Sony has set up a national recycling initiative in the US, allowing people to recycle all Sony-branded products for free.

The Take Back Recycling Program kicks off on 15 September and has been developed in collaboration with Waste Management Recycle America.

It is the first national recycling initiative in the US to involve a major electronics manufacturer and a national waste management company.

A study by the US Environmental Protection Agency showed that around two million tons of used or unwanted electronics accumulated in the US in 2005.

Some 70 to 80 per cent was primarily discarded in landfills, and only about 360,000 tons were recycled.

The Sony programme will allow individuals to take unwanted Sony products to one of 75 eCycling drop-off centres throughout the US.

Consumers will also have the option of shipping used Sony products to select Waste Management Recycle America locations.

The programme also allows consumers to recycle other manufacturers' consumer electronics products at "market prices", and may include a recycling fee for some types of materials.

"Service and support does not stop once a purchase is made. We believe it is Sony's responsibility to provide customers with end-of-life solutions for all the products we manufacture," said Stan Glasgow, president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics.

Glasgow said that by making the recycling of Sony products easy and convenient, the company expects to reach its goal of recycling 1lb of old consumer electronics equipment for every 1lb of new products sold.

Sony hopes to increase the number of eCycling drop-off centres to at least 150 within a year, and to have at least one location in every state through a combination of Recycle America sites and external service partners.