DELL AND GOODWILL LAUNCH FREE, LOCAL COMPUTER RECYCLING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DELL AND GOODWILL LAUNCH FREE, LOCAL COMPUTER RECYCLING

31 drop-off sites in New York City and eastern New York State available

Any brand of computer equipment accepted

New York becomes fourth statewide Reconnect program

NEW YORK, N.Y., October 30, 2008 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- The News:

Reconnect is a free computer recycling service offered to residents in the greater New York City and eastern New York State area. The service is provided by Dell and Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, Inc.

Reconnect offers consumers free recycling for any brand of computer equipment in any condition. Consumers can find the most convenient of 31 drop-off locations at www.reconnectpartnership.com or http://www.goodwillny.org/about_openhouse.aspx?neid=66.

Program goals are: to divert 1.65 million pounds of used computers and computer equipment from area landfills over the next year; provide consumer education on the importance of environmentally-responsible computer disposal and support Goodwill’s job training and creation programs.

With the launch, New York is the fourth statewide Reconnect program. Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey has been a partner in Reconnect New Jersey since June 2007.

After Goodwill accepts and sorts the donated computer equipment, Dell's product recovery partner will recycle and remarket the recycled materials.

Consumers are responsible for removing data from hard drives and other storage media before donating to Goodwill. Consumers can also request a Goodwill receipt at time of donation.

Dell leads the industry in providing consumers free and convenient computer recycling options. In 2007 the company collected 102 million pounds of IT equipment from customers, a 20 percent increase over 2006.

Background

Other Reconnect programs currently exist in:

Austin, Texas (15 counties in Central Texas),
San Francisco (Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties),
the state of Michigan
San Antonio (23 counties in Central and South Texas),
North Carolina (49 counties),
San Diego,
Pittsburgh,
the State of New Jersey and City of Philadelphia,
Houston (15 counties),
Northwest Ohio,
Sandusky Bay Area, Ohio,
Western New York State,
the greater Rochester area, and
the Commonwealth of Virginia.

With today’s launch, Reconnect offers 606 drop-off locations for free computer recycling to consumers in several U.S. markets.

Quotes:
Rex Davidson, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey said, “Goodwill is very pleased to partner with Dell to expand Reconnect to New York. We are committed to helping provide work for persons with disabilities, who will be employed to accept, sort and prepare the donated computers for recycling. The program has the added benefit of helping divert hazardous materials contained in unwanted computer equipment from our communities. Proceeds from the program will go to support Goodwill’s many human services programs.”

Joe Strathmann, head of product recovery services for Dell said, “Dell wants to make computer recycling easy and free for consumers and Reconnect helps make that possible. Reconnect is a win for consumers, a win for the environment and a win for communities, and we’re glad to work with Goodwill on expanding Reconnect to cover New York City and make New York our fourth statewide program.”

Additional Information:
www.dell.com/recyling
www.dell.com/earth

About:
Dell offers free computer recycling to consumers worldwide.

Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is one of New York’s original recyclers since its founding in 1915. Goodwill provides educational and career services, job placement opportunities and post-employment support for people facing economic challenges, including persons with disabilities and other disadvantages. Headquartered in Astoria, Queens, the community-based agency serves more than 120,000 persons a year, both adults and youth. In 2007, Goodwill placed 13,000 individuals in jobs, including 2,800 persons with disabilities. To help support its programs, Goodwill sells donated clothes and other household items in 36 retail stores located in the New York City metropolitan area, Northern New Jersey, the Hudson Valley and the Capital District of New York.

Locate the nearest donation center at http://www.goodwillny.org/findgoodwill.aspx.

Contact Information:
Media Contacts
Bryant Hilton Dell (512) 633-7527 bryant_hilton@dell.com
Alfred Vanderbilt Goodwill (203) 855-9111 Alfred.vanderbilt@gmail.com