Remember Sony's plan to tackle e-waste? Well, now it's drawing the ire of some environmentalist groups.

Essentially, the program allows consumers in 18 states to recycle their old Sony gadgets for free, but it involves hauling them to a participating center run by Waste Management, Inc. Other non-Sony stuff is also allowed, but for a fee.

But their real beef are recycling fees that consumers pay when they first buy their shiny new toys, like say, in California. Navigating the minefield of state regulations has caused the company to implement less-than-ideal programs, at least in the eyes of some groups. That, and thought to the environment should really start at the drawing board.

BusinessWeek explains:

Companies like the fees because they fund recycling centers while being virtually invisible to consumers. The money also helps cover what tech executives call "orphan" products from lesser-known brands made by companies that don't contribute to recycling programs. Top-tier manufacturers estimate that orphans account for between 20% and 30% of all recycled gadgets.

Greenpeace, the Computer TakeBack Campaign, and other groups argue that the fees leave consumers holding the bill for a cleanup they shouldn't be responsible for, and act as a disincentive for companies to design greener products. (Greenpeace ranks Sony last out of 14 tech firms in its Guide to Greener Electronics, which rates companies based on their recycling efforts and plans to phase out all poisonous substances.)

It will be interesting to see where this all leads and if everyone involved can come to an equitable solution. Why is it important? Because in the US, only 20 percent of the electronics that got tossed in 2005 (a total of 1.9 - 2.2 million tons!) was recycled.