The digital age means that the number of electronic devices we use every day is exploding, from computers to cell phones, tablets and e-readers, eventually they all break down or are upgraded and sent off to the landfill.
Dell is taking a stand against this growing tide of electronic waste through social entrepreneurship. The company has set up a program that encourages recycling old items and re-purposing them, saving 68,000 tons of useless electronics from landfills in the 2011 fiscal year.
This represents a 16% increase in the amount they recycled from the previous year. Dell has stated that their goal is to recycle 1 billion pounds of e-waste by 2014, and they are currently 2/3 of the way to achieving that goal. The Dell Reconnect recycling program helps the environment by keeping nickel and cadmium out of landfills, and it also helps the community through a partnership with Goodwill Industries, providing employment to people in 165 communities.
