Nobody made the honor roll, but for the first time the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition has given passing marks to three computer makers in its annual report card for recycling and environmental practices in the electronics industry.

In the group’s fifth annual rankings, to be released today, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and NEC made the grade — but just barely. All landed in the top category — “The Beginners” — for belatedly recognizing that computer makers have a responsibility to reduce the toxic content of their products and then recycle them when they’re discarded, Ted Smith, director of the environmental group, said Tuesday.

IBM and Sony almost made the cut, but they slipped into the second category, “The Trailers.” Apple Computer, with conspicuously poor marks by the coalition, ranked seventh of the 27 companies reviewed. EMachines and Gateway clocked in “Still at the Starting Gate,” while Sun Microsystems, Viewsonic, Wyse Technologies and 13 other manufacturers scored zero — “The Bench Warmers.”

“Apple has always been disappointing,” Smith said. “They’re not taking responsibility for the life cycle of their products. They haven’t developed an effective take-back campaign, and evidently they don’t think they should.”

Apple declined to comment on the report card.

Dell earned the “Most Improved” award for stopping its use of prison labor to recycle computers and for supporting the nationwide take-back campaign. “They were in the doghouse for so long, so it’s encouraging to see them make progress,” Smith said.

Dell spokesman Bryant Hilton said the company is focusing on consumer education to boost its recycling volume by 50 percent next year. “I think both sides would agree that we still have a long way to go,” he said Tuesday.

IBM was given credit for its investment in more than six recycling facilities, but the report criticized the company for not taking responsibility for its “extraordinary contribution to legacy waste.” IBM collects upfront recycling fees at the point of purchase, but the report said those fees will fall far short of covering a coming “tidal wave” of older IBM e-waste. It faults Big Blue for relying on taxpayer-supported municipal recycling.

IBM issued a statement saying it hadn’t seen details of the report but that “the environmental impact of IT equipment is a legitimate concern, and we take it very seriously.”