Free e-cycling from the Post Office

Good news: the U.S. Post Office is offering free envelopes for e-cycling in 1,500 office locations nation-wide.

Says their press release:

Customers use free envelopes found in 1,500 Post Offices to mail back inkjet cartridges, PDAs, Blackberries, digital cameras, iPods and MP3 players – without having to pay for postage.

Postage is taken care of by the Clover Technologies Group, an organization that "recycles, remanufactures and remarkets inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges and small electronics."

It sounds like the perfect marriage between a need and someone willing to pay for it: the Clover Group pays to have electronics sent their way, and they repackage them for profit. The Post Office just serves as the middle person.

According to the press release, this is just a pilot program set for 10 areas across the U.S., but "could become a national program this fall if the pilot program proves successful."

Let me tell you: make it easy for people to send their e-waste, and any program could be successful.

No word on whether Jackson County gets to be included in the pilot communities, but we'll let you know.