I did the right thing today and brought some electronic waste downtown to a Department of Sanitation drop-off site. I can't say that I'm impressed with New York City's program in this. The advertising was poor – you really had to search for it even at their website. Plus, there were far too few locations in each of the five boroughs and this all only happens periodically. Recycling, I'm sorry to say, has never been a top priority of the city administration at any point. There have been various times when the impulse has flowered compared to others when the City has dragged its feet. I would not say, however, that the full potential here has ever been anywhere near embraced. (I like to plug my grand scheme at this point , Urban Gold , which I shopped around a few years back and for which I got a pretty fair hearing in a number of places.)
I do want to flag a really compelling article from National Geographic magazine from last January – High-Tech Trash. Aside from the article itself, and the always superb photographs, NGM's website has some in-depth features including this interactive look at all the toxic components of a computer and monitor. There's also a section on how you can reduce e-waste. See also EPA's "eCycling" webpage.
Followup: See this excellent article on the life cycle of computers from GreenerComputing News – How Activists Are Forcing Change in Green IT. This is precisely what the doctor ordered: tremendous built-in reductions in electronic waste as a direct consequence of paying attention to the life cycle.