ENCINITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 2005—Twice as many American home computers are thrown out or junked than are recycled, according to the recently released 2004 edition of Technology User Profile.

"Less than 1 in 30 (3.6%) of Home PCs were recycled in 2004," said Dan Ness, Principal Analyst with MetaFacts. "Nationwide, only 3.6% of Home PCs were recycled while more than twice that rate (1 in 11 or 8.6%) were thrown out or junked. This represents mountains of e-Waste and toxic chemicals."

The research further indicates that one-person households have a higher rate of recycling than larger households or families.

"Today at CES – the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, eBay, Intel, HP, and Apple, along with a host of other progressive technology companies, launched the Rethink Initiative, which is a step in the right direction," said Ness, Principal Analyst with MetaFacts. “This initiative helps to bring attention to this problem and highlight resources that consumers and businesses can use to find ways to recycle their old PCs and other consumer electronics.”

These results were released today by MetaFacts from their forthcoming TUP Profile Report entitled "The Demise of American PCs" with survey results from three years of nationwide research. The report will be available in late January through the company's online store at MetaFacts.com.

The complete Technology User Profile study, on which this report is based, provides a detailed profile of how Americans use technology products such as computers, printers, consumables, digital cameras, the Internet, cellular phones, and related services. The 2004 edition of the study includes results from 32,150 respondents, making it possible to leverage the service's database for sizing, demographics, segmentation, profiling, analysis, and custom surveying.

About MetaFacts, Inc.:

MetaFacts, Inc. is a national market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts' Technology User Profile survey is the longest-running, largest, and most comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983. The detailed results are widely recognized as a primary marketing resource for Fortune 100 companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, mobile devices, and related services and products.

More information on obtaining results from Technology User Profile can be obtained by visiting http://www.metafacts.com or calling 760-635-4300.

MetaFacts and Technology User Profile are registered trademarks and service marks of MetaFacts, Inc.  

Contacts:
	MetaFacts Inc., Encinitas  Dan Ness, 760/635-4306 or  760/635-4300  760/635-4303 (fax)