Hardware

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

Christian_SEO — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 23:16:00 GMT

I hope some consideration is taken with the possibility of toxic dust being created with the use of a bandsaw, since some of the materials can contain lead and other nasty things.

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

martinnagy — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 00:16:00 GMT

Truly dead computers' motherboards, modems, network cards, etc. are very useful to art teachers in schools grades 5-16 as the parts can be cut up on a bandsaw or with a hacksaw and used to make jewelry, contemporary totems, sculpture, wall reliefs, etc.... without ending in the landfill. Many art teachers have, and some not thought of, this resource yet. I've done this since 1985 and the kids go wild. I would love to work on a national or international virtual exhibit of these artworks. Reactions to: artsclew@aol.com

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

Christian_SEO — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 23:45:00 GMT

With all the resources that were mentioned in this thread, I'm not surprised that no one has posted to it in over a year, but now the question is raised again...?

My answer is this:

1) Find a place that will recycle the computer. This would be a company or just a person that can tinker with it, use the parts, fix it up, and make some use of it either by giving it away or selling it.

2) Find a place that will recycle the computer. This is different from #1, because in this instance the computer is transformed into something that is no longer a computer. BestBuy has been having recycling days and everything they get is reported to be sliced, diced, ground up, and used to make more ipods.

3) Find a place that will bury the computer. If your local laws permit, trash that beige box and send it to the landfill. Not the best choice, but for some it may be the last choice after giving it permanent storage.

From my experience, most computers are not "dead" and I own two 286 laptops to prove it. I have to admit that like an aging house cat they spend most of the time sleeping...

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

TellerWildlifeRefuge — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 19:46:00 GMT

My name is Tami, and I am the accidental techie for our small non-profit corporation. While many valid points have been raised, I came here looking for a reasonable solution to our old computers in the closet (and other non-profits in the area with similarly full closets). I do not doubt that we all need to be be politically outspoken about finding solutions - this is rapidly becoming a serious problem. However, the answer to the main question seems to be whatever you can think of/locate/create in your own small geographic area. I will continue to look for answers to "What do you do with a dead computer?".

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

gambitnut — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 07:26:00 GMT

Free Geek does the same thing, though I am not sure if they will take donations from people outside of the Portland, OR area.

There are also Free Geeks in Olympia, Washington, South Bend, Indiana, Columbus, Ohio, Chicago, Illinois and Ephrata, Pennsylvania. If you want to send your computers to the one in Portland though, we'll be happy to take them. Just so you know, the Free Geek in Portland charges $10 for each monitor we get because it costs us about that much to properly recycle them (I think the others charge a similar amount), we'll take everything else for free. Another option would be to start your own Free Geek.

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

neopia9 — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 02:47:00 GMT

Get rid of what you know is dead (check local policy for recycling) and keep the rest, even if it doesn't form a complete PC. These make good spare parts in case something on your new computer breaks. That's what I do personally!

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

shaimon — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 23:20:00 GMT

In Oregon, Washington, Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland and Pennsylvania A company clalled E-Tech recycling which will pick up and recycle your old computers and monitors. Check out their website http://www.etechrecycling.com

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

aljay165 — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 08:05:00 GMT

Make a millions dollars!

RCI’s services address the critical triangle of computer recycling and remarketing: Investment Recovery; Data Destruction and E-Waste Recycling with Environmental Liability Protection. It sells refurbished and almost-new computers, peripherals and spare parts through its retail division, Outlet Computer Store and www.outletcomputer.com, and through a widespread network of dealers and distributors in the USA and in foreign markets. In fact, 70 per cent of the products handled by RCI are remarketed. RCI itself runs on refurbished computer equipment.

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

Susan_Tenby — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 21:13:00 GMT

I guess you haven't yet found our

recycling page. You can find local places to donate your used boxes on this list.

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

ChiralSoftware — Fri, 05 Aug 2005 23:00:00 GMT

That's a tough question! Here in California, we're not supposed to toss stuff into the muni garbage, but there are really no consumer-level disposal options, either. There are companies that can send a truck over to pick up hundreds of pounds of used electronics (whether these are really recycled or end up dumped somewhere is another question) but if you just have a small quantity to get rid of... I couldn't find any good options when I looked.

I would be happy to pay a reasonable recycling fee if there were some consumer-accessible place around here that would do it.

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RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

MJanofsky — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 19:33:00 GMT

Free Geek does the same thing, though I am not sure if they will take donations from people outside of the Portland, OR area.

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

atorf — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 19:05:00 GMT

There was a related story on NPR's "All Things Considered" a few weeks ago about RetroBox, an Ohio company that buys, recycles and/or refurbishes and then resells used computers. You can listen to the full piece at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4756344

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

pavellerner — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 01:07:00 GMT

Well, in San Francisco, there is a computer recycling place called Direct Computer Disposal. I took all my computer junk that has been in storage for ages there. You can bring as much computer and television junk as you want.
The people were nice and courteous and it's Free if you bring it yourself. Otherwise it's a $10 bucks pick up fee from individuals and $15 for businesses.
http://www.directcomputerdisposal.com

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

rlanthony — Tue, 21 Sep 2004 15:57:00 GMT

"My hope is that every state passes the CRT ban and that the US makes Michael Dell and Steve Jobs themselves pay for the cost of building the infrastructure to clean up their own horrific and trajic (sic) mess."

Even as a consumer, I have a problem with this statement. The liability is disposing of a product (any product) when it is no longer wanted falls on the owner of that product. Should Coca Cola have to come and pick up your old soda cans? Should Ford have to come and tow away that old car in your front yard? Should computer manufacturers be liable for disposal of old and unwanted computers? The answer is a resounding "No!" The responsibility in disposal of an item lies in the consumer's hands.

But let's pretend that legislation was passed requiring computer manufacturers to dispose of old computers... who's going to pay for that? Not the manufacturers... they may be giving the money to pay for the disposal, but ultimately that cost will be passed down to the consumer with a markup and the consumer ends up paying more for the disposal.

Just my view of how things work... :D

RE: What do you do with a dead computer?

amyspintman — Thu, 16 Sep 2004 23:22:00 GMT

We had a lot of old computers and equipment, some working, some not. I posted them on Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) and received an overwhelming response. Some people didn't even care if they worked or not -- one person creates artwork from computer parts, and another teaches a computer repair class and always needs parts. There were many other replies from people looking for basic systems and were happy with our "discards."

Amy