Japan and European Union (EU) member states require manufacturers to take on the costs of disposal, in an effort to encourage companies to think differently about the life cycle of their products. E-waste campaigns in the U.S. are looking to their model in an attempt to move away from the current U.S. model of consumers paying to recycle their electronics, which doesn't give producers the same incentive to change their practices with greener design and responsible disposal, says Kyle.

Among American companies, Dell has the most comprehensive takeback program, accepting any Dell computer at any time for free and taking all computers, regardless of manufacturer, when you purchase a new Dell. And state governments are picking up where federal standards are lacking. In March 2006, Washington state passed the most advanced producer responsibility law in the United States, requiring manufacturers to pay their share of recycling costs based on the percentage of their products brought to collection sites. There are also similar laws in Maine and Maryland, and over 20 states are currently looking at producer-responsibility legislation.

What You Can Do

-Buy from companies that have comprehensive takeback programs. Here's a comparison of the major programs: www.computertakeback.com/docUploads/Using_takeback_programsv7a.pdf

-Buy computers rated by the EPA's Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), which rates models according to 51 environmental criteria, including takeback programs and the use of a minimum of 65 percent reusable or recyclable components. See www.epeat.net.

-Donate your old computer if it still works. The National Cristina Foundation (www.cristina.org) and Computers for Schools (www.pcsforschools.org) accept computers.

-Take non-working computers to nonprofits that can use them for job training, such as Per Scholas (www.perscholas.org).

-As a last resort, recycle your obsolete electronics at a responsible recycler approved by the Computer Takeback Campaign. See www.computertakeback.com/the_solutions/recyclers_map.cfm.