U.S. Postal Service Expands Electronics Recycling Program

Mother Nature Network (mnn.com)

Melissa Hincha-Ownby, Mother Nature Network

If you purchased a new iPhone 5 recently and are wondering what to do with your old mobile phone, then a trip to the post office in order. Yes, the post office. The United States Postal Service (USPS) expanded its recycling program and now allows customers to trade in their old electronics for cash, including cellphones, at one of 3,100 retail locations nationwide.

Customers interested in trading in an old cellphone, digital camera, PDA or other small electronic device should first visit the Recycle Through USPS website. The USPS has partnered with MaxBack and customers will be routed to a new website where they will first search for the specific electronic device that they want to trade in.

Once the device has been located in the USPS/MaxBack database, an instant quote is provided and the customer can then accept the quote. The next step is to mail in the device, at no charge, using USPS Priority Mail. Upon receipt of the device, MaxBack will inspect the item and mail the cash to the customer.

While it is nice to get cash back on an old device, not every product will be eligible for a cash payment. However, the USPS wants to ensure that these products don't end up in a landfill so customers can visit a retail location to pick up a free recycling mail-back envelope. The products will then be recycled by a zero-landfill waste-company.

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