USPS introduced three new recycling programs to help consumers and federal agencies manage unwanted electronic waste. Since May 2012, these efforts resulted in more than 33,200 pounds of eWaste diverted from landfills.
USPS Introduces a Comprehensive Electronics Recycling Program for Federal Agencies. Executive Order 13514 mandates that U.S. government agencies must “employ environmentally sound practices for the disposition of all agency excess or surplus electronic products.” To assist federal agencies to comply with this mandate, the Postal Service created the USPS BlueEarth™ Federal Recycling Program.
This program allows agencies and their employees to recycle qualified end-of-life products free of charge. The USPS designated recycler will fund the transportation cost via U.S. Mail from federal agency locations to the certified recycler’s destination. Agencies can return official equipment and employees can return personally owned equipment via this program. Items accepted include: cell phones and accessories; laptops, notebooks and PC Towers; cameras, camcorders and camera equipment; media games and game systems; tablets and readers; MP3 Players, DVD and Blu-ray Players; inkjet and toner cartridges. Agencies and employees can make recycling arrangements by logging onto blueearth.usps.gov.
Cash-back opportunity — electronic device recycling through the mail. The USPS makes electronic recycling easy for consumers. By accessing usps.com/return-for-good consumers can go green as they trade in old electronic gadgets for cash. MaxBack offers cash in return for small electronics — with free postage-paid, return shipping through USPS. Once received, MaxBack inspects the item and sends money based on the customer’s chosen options. MaxBack remarkets gently used cell phones and electronics safely and securely. Damaged or unusable electronics are remanufactured or recycled by a zero-landfill, ISO-14001 and R2-certified, reverse-logistics company. Devices covered by the program include cell phones, iPods and tablets.
Inkjet cartridge recycling offered at Postal retail locations. An inkjet lobby recycling program was available in select Post Offices. Customers simply placed their empty ink cartridges in the free postage-paid envelope and sent it off knowing that their cartridges would be handled in an environmentally responsible manner.
USPS BlueEarth™ Product Carbon Accounting Service Launched. Our USPS BlueEarth™ Product Carbon Accounting Service was made available during 2012 for business customers to measure and manage carbon impacts across their supply chains. This proprietary innovation follows the most widely accepted GHG accounting methods to calculate a shipping or mailing item’s GHG emissions based on its characteristics, such as product type, size, weight, processing, distribution and transportation.
This “no fee” service provides our business customers with monthly, quarterly and annual reports. Carbonfund.org Foundation has reviewed the methodology used for the USPS BlueEarth™ Carbon Accounting Statement and determined it is consistent with the carbon neutrality criteria for eligibility in the Carbonfund.org Carbonfree® Shipping program. USPS business customers interested in offsetting emissions created by mailing or shipping can purchase carbon credits using official calculation results from the USPS BlueEarth™ Carbon Accounting Statement. Carbonfund.org is the country’s leading carbon reduction and offset organization.
