Apple Offers Cash For Old Hardware

Apple has launched a recycling programme that will allow customers to send in their old Apple or Windows hardware in for cash, with Apple items receiving premium pricing.

The programme, operated by German recycling firm Dataserv, was previously available in the US and as of Friday has been extended across the UK, France and Germany.

Market value

To get started, users answer a series of questions about their hardware on the programme’s website, including the make, model, appearance and working condition. Categories include iPhones and iPads as well as Mac or Windows desktops and laptops.

Based on the responses Dataserv delivers an estimate of whether the hardware is worth anything, Apple said. If it is, the firm will send out a pre-paid shipping label allowing the user to send in the device for verification, following which the amount will be paid directly into the user’s bank account.

A nearly-new iMac or iPad 2 in perfect condition could fetch more than £200, while an iPhone 4S or MacBook Pro with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor could be worth more than £400, according to estimates available on Apple’s recycling site.

However, a perfect-condition 19-inch Intel Core 2 Duo laptop manufactured by Dell would only be worth about £90, according to the site.

“Apple’s commitment to the environment includes finding the most efficient ways to reuse or recycle electronic equipment at the end of its useful life, including iPhone, iPad, Mac or PC computers, and displays from any manufacturer,” Apple said in a statement.

Free recycling

Customers buying a new Mac qualify to have their old equipment recycled for free at Apple Store or Apple Premium Reseller outlets, regardless of the equipment’s manufacturer, Apple said.

The programme doesn’t cover hardware that has no resale value and whose owners aren’t buying new Apple equipment, Apple said. However, the company noted that such hardware can always be recycled by the owner’s local authority.

Apple recommended UK users to contact recycling scheme Repic for more information.

Last February the European Parliament voted for tougher regulations on the disposal of electronic trash, requiring each country to collect 4kg of e-waste per citizen by 2012, and to process 85 percent of all it’s electronic waste by 2016.

The tougher Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive is intended to tackle the issue of toxic waste from electronic products, which is often exported illegally to the third world where it is processed in lethally unsafe ways.