What is Digg?65 Comments
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+72The problem I have with recycling old computer equipment is that where I live, they CHARGE you to recycle it. If you want people to recycle something, don't punish them for doing it.
In the meantime, my basement is full of broken 386s to broken Pentium 3s and the broken parts that go with them. - rkuchiki, on 10/12/2007, -1/+42I recycle on eBay.
- AllnightChemist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+30@capran
Ooops. Thanks.
This is the link to the freecycle network: http://www.freecycle.org/
Apologies to anyone who clicked the other link. Digg it down, please. - Nomad83, on 10/12/2007, -8/+33Could be worse, they could charge you for the recycling when you BUY it.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23If you live in the Greater Cincinnati Area, I run Full Circle Group, Inc. We graciously accept all computer donations, we'll even come and pick it up from you for free if you have a large enough donation and you can write it off on your taxes!!!
http://www.full-circle-group.org - Ganpachi, on 10/12/2007, -9/+27@nomad83
I just found out that is what they do here in Alberta. I bought a $35 printer from staples, only to have 8 bucks added on for "recycling". I was like, "Dude, I can throw it in a ravine for free." - PhantomZmoove, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19Its worse for me, my place is filled up with working 386s, so there's no way I can throw that stuff away!
- DrivinWest, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18I've always donated my old PCs to the Salvation Army (and by 'old' I mean Athlon 2800+ with 512MB RAM) with the hopes that some poor kid will get it and do something great with it.
What other computer equipment did I see when I donated said machine? 8088s, 286s with 5.25" floppy drives, a II+, etc. All totally useless outside of tiny academic and professional niches. People are dumping equipment which is beyond obsolete and passing the disposal buck to these charitable organizations. Not cool. - AllnightChemist, on 10/12/2007, -8/+23Could be worse yet if everyone who doesn't want to recycle their old CRTs just toss them wherever to avoid paying a few bucks to recycle them.
- quisph, on 10/12/2007, -13/+28It's odd... Many people don't hesitate to plop down $2000 for a new computer every year or two, but when the time comes to get rid of it, suddenly they can't scrape together 10 or 20 bucks.
Just raise your "computer" budget by half of a percent. It's not going to break you. - chazhick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14I wish there was a place to recycle for free. Its so hard to convince people that its worth the small fee to help take care of the environment. If anyone know of a place that recycles for free please let me know.
- capran, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13That "www.freecycle.com" link just goes to a domain squatter.
- mrlost117, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I think most people knew... just didnt care
- JerMe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I don't know about other cities, but the San Diego Goodwill group will take all electronics for free, working or not. Just bring your parts to a donation center. They offer receipts for tax write-offs.
http://www.sdgoodwill.org/cr.shtml - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8@PathDaemon:
Actually you're wrong. LCD is just the technology for the screen itself, the entire unit as a whole is known as a monitor. Just like 'studio monitor' speakers, they're used to 'monitor' or keep an eye/ear on a process. So LCD monitor is perfectly reasonable, however, LCD can refer to any number of things, including the screen for a calculator or digital watch. - leszek, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7i don't know what do you all have against an ecological tax. We are all destroying the environment so we should all pay for the recycling.
Here in Belgium, we have the recupel "tax", for each apparatus you buy, you are paying for recycling it.
It is not really expensive:
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.execute.be%2Finforecupel.asp&langpair=fr%7Cen&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools - loof, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I hate to kill your good deed buzz but whoever got that PC probably sold it on eBay. Around here people wait outside before it opens so they can buy anything that might be worth something so they can eBay it and profit. There was a local goodwill where the employees were taking the all the really valuable stuff for themselves before it even hit the floor.
- samalex1701, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Who dictates what an 'outdated' computer really is? Microsoft? Intel? I still see TONS of use for even 300Mhz systems, and such systems can be donated to public schools, technical colleges, students/kids who want to learn about computers, and others. Worse case hit-up your local Linux User Group and see if anyone wants to turn that aging system into a groovy Linux server.
When I think OLDER systems I think a 486 and below. Unfortunately even Linux has some fits with sub-Pentium grade systems.
As for Ebay, as someone suggested, putting something like a 400Mhz Dell Optiplex in an auction will probably yield more from shipping then from the box itself. These systems are a dime a dozen.
Just my thoughts. Just because Microsoft says your sub-2.5Ghz single core system isn't par for Windows Vista doesn't mean it's ready for the recycle bin. - bran100, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4My daughter's second grade public school class has 4 computers. Sounds great!, but wait for it....
Optiplex Pentium MMX - 32 megs of RAM and Windows 95
Optiplex Pentium MMX - 32 megs of RAM and Windows 95
Optiplex P2 - 32 megs of RAM and Windows 98
Aberdeen (?) P2 with a Kernel Error that won't boot
Donate to a public school in your area. They could use anything you don't want. In fact, donate to me and I'll give it to her school. - excalibrax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4My roomate and i just bought about 130 older computers for $1 all together from our schools garage sale, along with a van load of other scrap stuff. So far we are up to 140 bucks for scrapping all the metal and tomorow we are taking the hard drives, cd drives, floppy and zip drives to the scrapyard to be weighed for tin scrap. They are taking all the drives as is, we turned in all the metal from the cases, including heatsinks, and took all the plastic off the cases to recycling. We have 2 boxes of electronic boards that we need to dispose of and about 130 powersupplies that need to still be scrapped but besides that for two students its pretty good money.
- squishee, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9They charge you to recycle because recycling companies typically lose money in the recycling process. (Penn and Teller's *****, anyone? I think they cited aluminum as the only material that is profitable to recycle; everything else is done at a loss.) If you feel guilty about throwing stuff away and want to recycle to make yourself feel better, then a couple of bucks in exchange for a clean conscience doesn't seem so bad.
- skitzovision, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4This link may be helpful.
http://www.sharetechnology.org/ - AllnightChemist, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Why did anyone digg this down? You got something against Cincinnati? Still can't get over the Series?
Good for you, gangals. +1 Digg. - ICSU, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@leszek
That applies to the whole EU. And when you buy a new electronic device, you can bring in the old one and they will take it. - WhiteTeeRash, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4You can also remove and separate the wire in all those ribbon cables and knit a yourself fashionable hat.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@violentvinyl:
I'd never donate anything to Meals on Wheels. They are a rogueish organization that just creates a mess anywhere it goes (discarded trash, etc.) and has no custodial responsibility. The city they operate in are left to pick up the garbage and they encourage decentralized homeless populations which often lead the homeless that need services far from the centers that provide them.
Not saying that feeding the homeless is bad, but the way they do it is irresponsible and reckless. - rbanffy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3A II+ is worth something if the one receiving it is willing to spend some time with eBay
- Yorn, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6Actually, all of your comments combined make the solution pretty easy: Since recycling is going to cost more than the price of shipping, throw the computer/monitor/printer on Ebay for the cost of shipping as the minimum bid. You'd be surprised who would be happy to put your computer to good use.
Quoting -- "It's odd... Many people don't hesitate to plop down $2000 for a new computer every year or two, but when the time comes to get rid of it, suddenly they can't scrape together 10 or 20 bucks."
Well, I don't buy a computer for even $1000+ every year or two, but I can say this: charging for something that is supposedly going to help the environment should only be done if you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is going to help the environment.
What ends up happening with these fines on "big corporations" is that they just turn them right around on the little guy, and then because *we* are now paying, *they* get to say they implemented an initiative to help the environment and start getting tax subsidies on the money *you* are basically paying.
If you're going to claim that regulation is good, first be sure the enforcer of the regulation (ie, federal and state gov't) is on your side. I think you're going to find that they are more obsessed with pleasing the consumer (you) for the vote, and pleasing the corporation (them) for the funding. That means regulations and tax subsidies. And more and more of the same. - NSMike, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6They charge you because recycling is essentially more expensive than just tossing it, and ultimately, worse for the environment. At least, according to Penn & Teller.
Edit: Beaten by squishee. Dang, I didn't used to have to be this fast on replies... More Digg users seem to be commenting. - quisph, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5@Yorn
Are you waiting for someone to knock on your door and explain it to you personally? Because there is really no controversy over the fact that throwing toxic waste into landfills is bad for the environment. - Xarou, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The job of taking apart the computers for recycling sucks. I've worked at it before. It's actually what kept me afloat money-wise until I got an actual job. But in reference to having to pay, I believe that if you have enough, the amount that you have to pay will become insignificant. Or else, why would big companies be doing it? (Other than being required by law)
If anyone is around the Triple Cities area of New York (Binghamton, Endicott, Johnson City), check out Manpower, or IBM. That's who I worked for and they do recycling. - kloud213, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I would like to say recycling anything from cardboard to computers is a very profitable business. I'm a maintenance manager for a local recycling plant and the man who owns/runs the place is worth more than you would think just dealing in cardboard, plastics, and aluminum. Believe it or not plastics are where most of his money comes from.
- qwertydvorak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@kloud213: how much of the profit comes from tax subsidies ?
- PathDaemon, on 10/12/2007, -7/+8They call LCDs "displays," not monitors. That's what the D stands for.
- shosterman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1In and around Columbus, Ohio, you should use http://www.freegeekcolumbus.org
They will try to salvage the machine and parts into a working donation machine. If they can't they will send it out for recycling. I just read about the place in the Dispatch so I'm going to try them this week, maybe even volunteer a bit. - violentvinyl, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2A guy I work with does that. He finds the people who need them through his church. Anytime we have a monitor or PC that is obsolete or broken (but usable) we pass it on to him. We also just recently off loaded about 12 working CRTs to Meals on wheels for use in their offices. Donating is easy, recycling is a little harder, and Donating pays you back through tax write offs. The trick to is to not let your equipment get SO obsolete that it's completely useless to whoever may receive your donation. For home-users, this doesn't apply so much, but for companies, if you're letting your equipment get so outdated that even local charities don't want it, you're probably doing something fundamentally wrong.
In a way, you're kind of passing the buck on recycling, but as long as everyone in the chain receive some kind of value, it's a good solution for the time being. Certainly better than the machines winding up in a local river. - marcan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My father's company's mailserver is a 300Mhz K6. The firewall is a Pentium 90, yes, the ones with the F0 0F bug from back in the day. Both running Linux (Gentoo for the former, freesco for the latter). The main internal server is an Athlon XP running RedHat. I've got an old Celeron around here for use as a motion camera recording system (including web control) running Debian. Just because I need a decent computer for a desktop doesn't mean everything else is useless. I'm using an Athlon64 3000+ with a slight overclocking, and a low-end but decent graphics card (GeForce6600), and one gig of ram. Could I use the Celeron as a desktop? Probably not. Does that make it useless? Hell no.
- kerby74, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't mind paying to drop stuff off and have it properly disposed of, such as the 20" CRT monitor I have that I need to get rid of.
The problem with computer recycling that I have is the lack of drop off sites more than whether or not they charge. I live in a rural area and would have to pack up and drive my old hardware over 100 miles to the nearest site to me.
I find this particularly odd because my town and all surrounding towns push hard for residents to join the recycling program which takes just about everything else.
Which by the way great. My family has cut our trash to 1/3 of its previous volume by recycling the paper/cardboard, plastic, glass and metals and only throwing the rest of our trash in the trash.
I guess until then I am just storing the crap in my basement. - capran, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://afrotechmods.com/cheap/hdspeakers/hdspeakers.htm
Here's an idea for recycling old hard drives into speakers!
(OK, not really, but thought it was neat.) - crackhead, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A buddy of mine started a business to help consumers recycle their old electronics by installing staffed kiosks in Circuit City and Best Buy parking lots. Customers bring in their electronics, which are evaluted for their scrap worth, and are then handed a gift cards for the value at the store. It's a win-win...the store gets good PR and guaranteed dollars, the consumer gets paid to recycle their old electronics at a convenient location, and the scrap business gets the materials to recycle.
If you live in or near San Diego, I highly recommend you try it out! http://www.recycle4life.com. - Noein, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I was watching a show on circuit board recycling the other day and it states gold in recycled circuit boards is several times the concentration of average gold mine ore. The company that does the recycling in the show actually profit from recycling, so it baffles me why they charge you for recycling.
- superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Buy a Mac. After I bought and registered my MacBook Pro, I received an email with a bar code I could use to ship an old computer via FedEx for free to Apple for recycling.
We also have a local computer recycling facility, for which I have paid a fair amount to dispose of old monitors and such... - darkamster07, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1oh, so I can recycle that plutonium sucking flux capacitor I installed? good to know, though I will miss the green glow as well as the possibility for birth defects
- BobMysterioso, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5I feel your pain, and in time, eventually you will be able to part with these perfectly workable, though not really usable machines. I had to part with 3 P90s - (1 of them was a dual p90 that had been my dvd player running NT4 all through college) that had done all sorts of stuff for years when I moved. And it was liberating!
Having a closet full of running machines sucking up who knows how much electric is pretty good for a while, but eventually, one day, you solve the problem by just throwing more money at it and buying a better premade solution.
Like my smoothwall or clark connect firewall. Both darn good solutions, but at around $6/mo in electricity to run not worth it. I got a little 20watt all in one router/ap/wonderbox and I never have to worry about the firewall's HD dying.
Also, I have a big old dead 17" crt in my closet for the very reasons the article talks about. Bringing the comment back to the article at the very end.. FTW! - casemac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Is there any money to be had in recycling a hard drive? It seems you can buy a new one for pretty cheap.
- digitalrift, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0if you bothered to read the bastard operator from hell you'd know that recycling computer parts is big money, and also very easy: just dump the parts off on random people in random places and charge money to do. problem solved and everyone is happier.
- mitrovarr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The public schools here are always getting rid of computers better than those. Hell, the college here sold off tons of P3s and such last year, and no one was willing to buy most of the ones below 700 mhz at any price; they ended up getting donated and passed around and eventually recycled.
It's not that they aren't still useful, but most of the people who need them don't have the skills or money to put operating systems on them. Linux helps, but you can't just dump a Linux system off on people who know nothing about computers without training and good documentation. It takes a lot of effort and some money to public donations like that work. - mitrovarr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Probably the easiest and cheapest way to get rid of a 20" CRT, assuming it is reasonably modern and it works, is just to ask around with your friends and see if anyone wants it. One of my friends gave me one of his old 19" ones, and I used it to replace the 17" on my mom's email machine. She really enjoys it.
If nobody wants it, it's still prime donation material. Someone will be happy to use it; LCDs are new and shiny but a 20" CRT is still a damn fine monitor.
Genuinely useful, modern tech shouldn't be scrapped unless absolutely necessary. - growler1, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2re: the fee for recycling problem.
For a long time I've had the pipe dream of collecting a bunch of unwanted PCs, updating them Frankenstein-style with whatever's available, and then just giving them away to people who need websurfing/word processing who otherwise couldn't afford them.
The problem for me thus far has been space (for all the junk) and time (for all the tinkering).
There's gotta be one of you guys already doing this; I'd be interested to hear how it's working for you and if you have any tips. - Veretax, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1this is only useful if you are in an area that has such a recycling center near by. I'm not aware of too many such here in West Virginia.
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