By SkySite Property staff 

Best Buy is testing electronics recycling in 117 stores in Baltimore, San Francisco and Minnesota as part of a program that could be introduced nationally. The program accepts televisions and monitors up to 32 inches, computers, phones, cameras and other electronics devices and peripherals.

If not recycled properly, electronics can be a major source of toxins and carcinogens. And because electronics are tricky and expensive to recycle, they often end up in landfills generating e-waste that can pose health and environmental hazards.

The test program is an addition to Best Buy’s current free, in-store recycling program for ink cartridges, rechargeable batteries, cell phones, CDs, DVDs, and PDA/smart phones. Also, when consumers purchase a new product at Best Buy, the electronics and entertainment store will come to the customer’s home for free to remove an old or obsolete appliance or television. For $100, Best Buy will visit your home to remove two appliances and/or TVs.

Items not accepted in the program:

• TV and other monitors bigger than 32 inches

• Console televisions

• Air conditioners

• Microwaves

• Appliances (customers are invited instead to use Best Buy’s appliance haul-away and pick-up programs)

“We salute Best Buy for taking the initiative to offer free electronics take back at a number of its stores,” said Conrad MacKerron, director of corporate social responsibility for As You Sow, the investor group who worked with Best Buy on the initiative. “Making electronics recycling almost as easy as purchasing these goods has the potential to simplify recycling for millions of consumers who may be confused about where to return end-of-life goods in their area.”