Product recycling programs

In the United States, regulations and requirements for the disposal of used batteries vary by state and/or municipality. Additionally, requirements may vary depending on battery type. Users should contact their local municipal waste disposal facility prior to discarding any used battery in normal trash. The attached document provides information addressing the proper replacement, recycling, and disposal of used IBM/Lenovo product batteries.

The WEEE marking on Lenovo products applies to all countries with WEEE and e-waste regulations (e.g., European Directive 2002/96/EC, India E-Waste Management & Handling Rules, 2011). Appliances are labeled in accordance with local regulations concerning waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). These regulations determine the framework for the return and recycling of used appliances as applicable within each geography. This label is applied to various products to indicate that the product is not to be thrown away, but rather put in the established collective systems for reclaiming these end of life products.

Lenovo’s Commitment to Recycling
Lenovo has partnered with AERCCR, a leader in environmentally sound Product Takeback and Regulatory Compliance, to offer free recycling of Lenovo and select IBM PCs^[1] for Lenovo’s home and home office customers^[2]. 

This service is available for Lenovo’s home and home office customers in the United States who want to dispose of their end of life computer systems and accessories in an environmentally responsible manner while reducing the use of diminishing landfill space.  For large enterprise customers, Lenovo’s Asset Recovery Service provides solutions for larger quantities of equipment from any manufacturer, including Lenovo.   Please note:  to recycle a battery only, please see Lenovo’s US recycling page for details on how to access the “Call2Recycle” program for recycling rechargeable notebook batteries. 

 Lenovo's consumer offering provides a FREE recycling solution (shipping included) for all Lenovo branded products and select IBM branded products^[1], including system units, monitors, keyboards, and mice.  The program offers convenient options for recycling Lenovo products, including free home or office pick up, or you may drop your used Lenovo product off at over 30,000 US Postal Service locations nationwide.  Customers simply prepare the product for shipment and step through the instructions on the AERCCR webpage^[3] which includes detailed instructions regarding how to request a free prepaid label, instructions on how to schedule a free pickup, and information on how to find your nearest post office drop off location.   

Lenovo and its recycling partners are not responsible for information left on equipment returned to Lenovo or its partners for recycling. Lenovo recommends consumers use Lenovo's Secure Data Disposal tool or one of the variety of commercially available data-erasing software applications and follow the instructions associated with the software to ensure data is removed from the machine prior to returning for recycling.

¹To determine if an IBM branded product is eligible for recycling through the Lenovo program, please contact environment@lenovo.com prior to accessing the recycling service.

²In certain states, other entities are eligible to utilize this service.  Please step through instructions on the AERCCR webpage to determine eligibility.

³By clicking on this link you are exiting the Lenovo website and entering a website managed by AERCCR, Lenovo's US consumer recycling programs partner who manages this service for Lenovo.

Maine prohibits private households from disposing computer monitors and televisions as regular trash or waste. Instead, all waste computer monitors and televisions must be recycled. Maine has a system of "shared responsibility" for the recycling of this equipment. Private households should contact their local municipal office or solid waste/recycling facility to find out how to access this system. Additional information about Maine's program and recycling options are available here.

Businesses are also prohibited from disposing of old computers as regular trash or waste unless the computer can be proven to be non-hazardous through laboratory testing. Lenovo's Asset Recovery Service offering is available for large enterprise customers.

Household consumers wishing to recycle electronic equipment can visit www.pca.state.mn.us/ewaste or call 651-296-6300 (inside Twin Cities metro area) or 800-657-3864 (outside the metro area) to find a location in Minnesota that accepts electronic products. Note that recycling locations may accept different types of products. Recycling options may not be available yet in your area. Some locations may charge you a fee.

Missouri household consumers can recycle their end of life Lenovo and IBM branded desktop computers, laptops, and computer monitors along with the accompanying keyboard and mouse free of charge through Lenovo’s mail-back program at http://www.lenovo.com/lenovo/environment/usconsumerrecycling.

In New Jersey, Lenovo is a member of the AERCCR Group Plan registered with the State Department of Environmental Protection and in compliance with Electronic Waste Management Act. This program provides convenient methods for consumers of Covered Electronic Devices to return their products at end of life for environmentally sound recycling. To learn more about this program please click here:  NewJersey.aerccr.com.

New Jersey residents and small businesses can recycle covered used electronic equipment free of charge at a number of recycling centers throughout the state.  For details on New Jersey’s eCycling program, please visit
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dshw/ewaste/index.html.

In addition to Lenovo’s US consumer mailback recycling offering, Lenovo’s recycling partner AERCCR provides free recycling at the following locations in New Jersey.

In New York State, Lenovo is a member of the AERCCR Collective Electronic Waste Acceptance Program registered with the State Department of Environmental Conservation and in compliance with the New York State Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act. This program provides convenient methods for consumers of Covered Electronic Equipment (CEE) to return their products at end of life for environmentally sound recycling. To learn more about this program please click here: NewYork.aerccr.com. To see a complete list of the more than 100 collection sites for this program, please click here.

Lenovo's free consumer product takeback program is available to all US consumers (http://www.lenovo.com/lenovo/environment/usconsumerrecycling).

In addition, Lenovo’s North Carolina locations periodically hold electronic waste collection events which are open to members of the community. For details on upcoming events, please e-mail environment@lenovo.com. Lenovo’s event in April 2010 collected over 6.6 metric tons of material, with over 6.5 metric tons being recycled and only 0.1 metric tons going to landfill.

Starting January 1, 2009, Oregon E-Cycles, a program created by Oregon's Electronics Recycling Law, will provide free recycling of computers, monitors, and televisions to home consumers with seven or fewer items to recycle at a time.  In support of this program, Lenovo participates in the group plan “Manufacturers’ Group Plan – powered by AERCCR” (MGP) [oregonmgp.aerccr.com], which is approved by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.  Click here to view a list of the more than 100 collection sites operated by MGP where consumers can recycle their equipment.

In Pennsylvania, Lenovo is a member of the AERCCR Group Plan registered with the State Department of Environmental Protection and in compliance with the Covered Device Recycling Act. This program provides convenient methods for consumers of Covered Devices to return their products at end of life for environmentally sound recycling. To learn more about this program please click here:  Pennsylvania.aerccr.com. To see a complete list of collection sites for this program, please click here.

South Carolina household and home based business consumers can recycle their end of life Lenovo branded desktop computers, laptops, and computer monitors free of charge through Lenovo’s mail-back program at http://www.lenovo.com/social_responsibility/us/en/usconsumerrecycling.html.

Utah household and home based business consumers can recycle their end of life Lenovo branded desktop computers, laptops, computer monitors, keyboard and mice free of charge through Lenovo’s mail-back program at www.lenovo.com/social_responsibility/us/en/usconsumerrecycling.html.

Lenovo's free consumer product takeback program is available to all US consumers. For Lenovo's "2011 Annual Reporting for Computer Recovery and Recycling, Virginia" report required under Virginia's Computer and Recovery Act (2010), click here.

Lenovo is an active participant in the Washington Materials Management and Financing Authority recycling program in Washington State and supports the E-Cycle Washington program.  For full details on the program as well as a list of the over 250 collection sites supported by the program, please visit www.ecyclewashington.org.

Lenovo offers Asset Recovery Services (ARS) to business customers to help manage their end-of-life technology equipment by providing PC take-back, data destruction, refurbishment and recycling. Lenovo also offers additional services including inventory, value assessment, on-site de-installation and data encryption. This service gives customers an end-to-end solution from Lenovo from the point of computer purchase to take-back and disposal. Lenovo's expertise in managing the end-of-life computers can help customers eliminate the time and expense of managing the disposal of surplus or replaced equipment themselves. Additionally upon request, Lenovo can facilitate donation of the old computers or can help customers receive cash back for them.

Businesses interested in using these services should contact their local Lenovo Sales Representative. For more information on Lenovo Asset Recovery Services (ARS) please click here.

Lenovo has designed our packaging to minimize packaging volume while maintaining the protective performance required to safely ship our products. In designing our packaging, we strive to maximize the use of recycled and recyclable materials. Our packaging is designed to be recycled locally by the end user in most municipal and commercial waste and recycling streams. Recycling packaging locally helps to minimize the environmental impact from transportation of empty packaging for recycling. For information about local recycling options in the US, please click here. Institutional users of Lenovo notebook computers can contact environment@lenovo.com for more information about packaging recycling options.