Best Buy today announced an expansion of its electronics recycling program that lets people send in electronics without leaving their home. The retailer is now selling prepaid boxes that customers can stuff with unwanted tech and send to Best Buy for recycling.
Customers can buy a small box (9×5×3 inches) for $23 that supports up to six pounds of unwanted electronics. The medium box (9×5×3 inches) is $30 and can support up to 15 pounds. Best Buy's announcement referred to this "nationwide service" as a "pilot program." We've reached out to the company about what sort of limitations that implies and will update this article if we hear back. As of writing, though, the boxes seem available for purchase.
Although Best Buy already has an in-store recycling program, the recycling boxes target people who might not live close to a Best Buy or have an easy way to get to one.
The mail-in service is also cheaper than Best Buy's Haul Away program, which at $200 per trip (or 20 percent off for Best Buy Totaltech subscribers), is best reserved for the larger types of electronics Best Buy will take for recycling, like computer monitors, TVs, and refrigerators.
Each box comes with tape, instructions, and a prepaid label so customers can have it picked up by UPS or drop it off. The boxes are a good fit for smaller electronics Best Buy's recycling program accepts, like cables, mice, keyboards, webcams, landline phones, robot vacuums, and CD/DVD drives. You can see a full list of accepted products on Best Buy's website.
Once Best Buy receives your old tech, it will either have the item(s) repaired or recycled, it says. It also claims its recycling partners "will destroy any data" but recommends customers wipe their devices before mailing them off as well.
In its 2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance Report [PDF], Best Buy claimed that its recycling partners go through an "environmental, safety, and downstream audit process" and "are subject to recurring on-site, desktop, and downstream assessments." Recycling partners are also required to have "ISO 14001 certification, ISO 45001 safety certification or industry equivalent, and be certified to eStewards or R2 industry certifications."
Best Buy's mail-in recycling program is similar to the Office Depot Tech Recycling Boxes that are sold for a lower starting price ($8.39 for an 18×15×8 inch box supporting up to 20 pounds), but you have to bring those electronics-stuffed boxes to an Office Depot location for recycling. Best Buy joins the likes of Amazon, Apple, Dell, and HP (for printing supplies) in offering mail-in electronics recycling.
Best Buy's announcement comes as it attempts to reach a long-term goal of net zero emissions by 2040. The new mail-in service is a "carbon neutral service," Best Buy claimed without going into further detail. Best Buy claims to have collected 189 million pounds of electronics and appliances for recycling in fiscal year 2022 and to have recycled 2.7 billion pounds' worth since 2009, when it started its recycling program. And as we're sure its PR team knows, Best Buy's announcement also comes 17 days ahead of Earth Day.
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