Good Grief!

It’s good that we’re starting to get some more options for recycling old PCs. But I think we need a better solution for computers and other electronics that become obsolete at such a fast rate. Why shouldn’t the cost of an item’s safe disposal be reflected in the original purchase price? Add $50 to each new computer and use the money to develop a convenient way for consumers to recycle. While we’re at it, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to examine indirect costs for lots of products and re-price them accordingly.

A free market is good, but that market should disclose the true prices of the items we consume (e.g., including environmental costs), allowing us to make better choices and valid comparisons.