Goodwill, that handy depository for out-of-fashion clothes, college-days furniture, cluttersome bric-a-bac and toys-grown-out-of, is fast becoming the go-to spot for old electronics gear. Dell and Goodwill Industries International announced that 100 of Goodwill’s donation sites have been added to the Reconnect recycling program, where you can drop off computers and related accessories for free recycling.

Dell said the new sites in Delaware, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island bring the number of Dell Reconnect collection locations across the United States and Canada to 2,200. Dell said the additional sites could “divert approximately 5 million pounds of e-waste from landfills each year.”

Dell and Goodwill launched their partnership in 2004. Donated equipment that meets the program’s quality criteria is resold, and devices needing repair are either refurbished or broken down into parts to be recycled by Dell partners. Goodwill employees manage the collection and disassembly of the equipment, and Dell said the operation has created around 250 jobs. Dell publishes a list of what the program accepts, and has a handy Reconnect center locator.

Reprinted with permission from EarthTechling