Heather Ross, president and general manager of Lenovo Canada, said the company would be working with Electronics Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC) to help reduce the amount of dangerous waste created by outdated computer hardware.
Lenovo did not disclose how much of a discount customers would receive, but the company did say it would take in used equipment from competitors as well. Lenovo products sold in Canada include ThinkPad notebooks, ThinkCentre PCs and ThinkVision monitors.
Computer monitors and circuit boards are full of potentially hazardous chemicals that can leach into the soil and groundwater if dumped into landfills. Technology companies have come under growing pressure in the past few years to address the problem.
Several Canadian provinces have either already started regulated programs or expect to have legislation in place by the end of 2005.
Apple Computer, Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, IBM, Lexmark International Group, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba also participate in computer recycling efforts in Canada. Lenovo officially joined EPSC on June 16 in Toronto.
