Just saw the announcement for the disposable digital video camera from pure digital technologies, Inc. (okay, the original was announced last year, but this is the new model.) There’s lots of buzz about them in the popular press. The video camera comes with USB connector, flash memory, and an LCD screen. Is anyone worrying about the computer hardware on these throw-away devices?
According to The Internet Consumer Recycling Guide,
Recent studies have show that, despite the recycling claims on the boxes, less than half of disposable cameras are ever actually recycled. Enough cameras have been tossed to circle the planet, stacked end-to-end. Local film developers often have little or no incentive to return the camera bodies to the manufacturers, and not all parts of the cameras are recyclable. Kodak has started to minimally reimburse developers for the costs of sorting, storing and shipping, but processors are still faced with a bewildering variety of types, brands, and procedures for dealing with them.
I’m going to contact pure digital to see what their policy is on managing disposal. I’ll let you know the results.