Actor and filmmaker Robert Redford and Aerosmith's front man Steven Tyler joined Intel Corporation CEO Craig R. Barrett and eBay CEO and President Meg Whitman in signing up to preserve the environment by autographing two PCs for charitable auction on eBay.
The two limited-edition HP Entertainment PCs powered by the Intel Pentium 4 processor with Hyper-Threading Technology will be available for bidding on eBay starting January 24. Proceeds will support the National Cristina Foundation, an organization that encourages corporations and individuals to donate surplus and used technology for use by training and educational groups nationwide. NCF is a partner in the Rethink Initiative, a new program that brings together industry, government, environmental groups and the eBay community to address e-waste.
The Rethink Initiative at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Tyler, Redford, Barrett, and Whitman autographed the Entertainment PCs to support the program and encourage consumers to both rethink how they recycle technology products and adopt an environmentally conscious approach to disposing of old equipment.
"As consumers purchase new and exciting technology products, the responsible disposal of old equipment is an important issue," said Tim Mohin of Intel. "The e-waste pile is growing high around the world, and statistics show that it runs into millions of tons annually. The auction will help raise awareness for this important issue and support the Rethink Initiative in facilitating the responsible management of used technology around the world."
Industry analyst Gartner estimates that in the United States alone about 133,000 PCs per day are currently being retired but only ten percent are recycled. Promoting the responsible management of used technology since 1995, Intel initiatives in the past two years have diverted more than 500,000 pounds of used electronics from going to landfills.