Barrett And Aerosmith, Gates And Conan -- Must Be CES; And FCC Honcho Powell, Too; Corporate stars trot out the entertainment stars at huge consumer electronics show.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: James DeTar and Patrick Seitz

Some big tech companies on Thursday used the nation's largest trade show to say they're rethinking just how to attack the growing environmental problem of computer waste.

The first official day of the Consumer Electronics Show conference in Las Vegas featured Apple Computer, IBM, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard and others launching an initiative called Rethink. Leaders of Intel, Microsoft and the Federal Communications Commission also spoke Thursday or late Wednesday.

Rethink's mission is to work with government in coming up with ways to help people safely dispose of electronic waste.

EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman said eBay came up with the idea and enlisted others to help. "It's a tired cliche, but I really think this is a win-win situation for everyone," Whitman …