October 9, 2009 at 8:52 am
I wonder about recycling old or outdated products like books and computer hardware vs trashing them.
Some I know are too outdated to do users any good in communicating with the rest of the world (meaning the technologies and maybe the books) but surely some part of the globe could use the cables/etc? Even if they're slow/old but still function, wouldn't donating them to a developing nation help to get the rest of the world online faster, and reduce landfill?
Been wondering about how to take advantage of this at work with old hardware, i.e. donating to providers to help with electronic medical records/claim submission, or donating to low-income members to help get access to medical services online, so interested in your thoughts on the matter.
Realize that there are some confidentiality concerns, but wiping the drive/zero-filling should allow that to be a non-issue. Also wonder about OS issues, if I install on that drive and give it to someone else, is the license still valid?
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"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
October 9, 2009 at 9:02 am
Some years ago, I tried to donate my old computers to a local school, and they flat-out didn't want them.
A few years later, a used computer store opened close to my home. I am happy to see that they are doing well. I see a lot of people walking out with computers they have just purchased. I tried to take some old stuff there, but my things were too old. They were selective. And as far as just giving them some monitors to redistribute - they had a rack for free monitors.
I, too, would like to find a way to put old computers into the hands of people who have nothing. Haven't had the time to pursue this - mostly because I'm not an expert on wiping computers clean and making sure that what I want to donate is in sufficient working condition. But I wanted to chime in, and subscribe to this thread.
October 9, 2009 at 9:07 am
Curious, from a logistics perspective since we're talking about physical material, if others like Carla and I are interested in pursuing this, where are you located? I am in Ohio, USA.
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"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
October 9, 2009 at 9:30 am
I have some old servers, well, not old, maybe 4-5 yrs old, that used to host SSC. A couple 2U DELLs, RAID, etc. However they're like 1.4GHz CPUs. I tried to give them to the school system, but they didn't want them or need them. Power and rack concerns, as well as plenty of Macs had them worried about support. My friends are geeked out and they're sitting in my basement. I guess I could eBay them, but I don't want to deal with the shipping issues.
I had some really old laptops (Pentium originals, Pentiums IIs) that I had to just recycle. No idea if they really recycled them.
Until Win 7, lots of this older hardware wouldn't run newer OS's well. Now maybe that will change and make them usable.
I'm in Denver, still have some hardware to give away. will probably recycle it.
October 9, 2009 at 9:35 am
There is a place here in Eugene,OR. (link below) that will take anything you give them, with a small fee for the monitors, then they pack it into shipping containers and send it to developing countries. The last container went to Chile. I doubt it would be cost effective to ship them anything larger than cables, but for me, it's just down the street, and has worked very well.
For you all who can't find a similar organization locally, I would try free on CraigsList. Free always gets some interest, and it least it would be out of the landfill (for now anyway)
October 9, 2009 at 9:37 am
I hear what you're saying about not supporting newer OS's, but if somebody has *no* computer, who cares about the latest OS? Or heck, stick open source on it and go from there. Main use for these I think would be web access for end users, but even basic computing power is a step up from none.
Thinking double bonus, if you can get these computers into under-privileged areas, you might get some folks interested in IT that otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity. You can learn things like web development on paper (I started that way at a job that didn't give me enough to do, and was on a Unix terminal, so no web access) but it ain't nearly as fun as being able to do it on an actual PC.
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"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
October 9, 2009 at 9:42 am
jcraf02,
If the system was OEM (pre-installed OS) then it probably has the MS Win License Key on the side of the box (or on the bottom). If so, the OS stays with the box, where-ever it goes. Oddly in many ways, the license belongs to the holder of the sticker, not a CD or HardDrive, or Computer box.
As an alternative, you can always install Ubuntu.
October 9, 2009 at 10:08 am
Dan, really appreciate your feedback, that link is perfect.
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"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
October 9, 2009 at 10:56 am
jcrawf02
http://www.ecyclingcentral.com/recycler/program_details.php?ID=1885&state=OH
Or
http://www.ecyclingcentral.com/recycler/index.php?state=OH
Try these sites .. the first link is to a non-profit recycler in Canton OH and lists what they will accept. Now how legit they are I can not say, but you could investigate a bit.
October 9, 2009 at 11:12 am
Thank you, Dan and bitbucket, for your great references!
October 9, 2009 at 11:40 am
I don't know if this helps, but every dump in my area has a hardware recycling day, where you can bring hardware and just leave it, so as to be truly recycled (i.e. they recapture the merials as they can). Obviously, there's no telling what might happen to the stuff (so you do want to erase things beofre you drop them there), but it IS the "right" way to dispose of equipment if it's too old for any of the other options. It also makes sure to keep the mercury and metals out of the soil to some degree.
As to recycling services - I've heard altogether too many horror stories to trust them much. When we do use them, we make sure to FIRST DoD erase the stuff we give them , or, take a sledgehammer to the hard drive.
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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?
October 9, 2009 at 11:47 am
Thanks Matt, that would be a definite first step 😉
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"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
October 9, 2009 at 11:59 am
There is a day or two a year in my town. The announce it on signs and their website. It costs a little to recycle, and hopefully it's worth it.
October 9, 2009 at 12:14 pm
In our area (Charleston, SC), the local Goodwill accepts all outcast pc's and associated hardware (make sure to erase everything first !). What can be refurbished, they use as training tools for thier clients and the sell it in their stores for additional income. What is too old to be refurburished, they break down and sell/recycle what they can.
April 5, 2010 at 10:50 am
Some developing countries are really in need of equipment for schools, for office use for clinics, and so on. A couple of years ago Cameroon was taking some gear, you could try ringing their embassy and seeing if there is any interest. Several other African countries too might be interested. Of course shipping stuff to the embassies might be prohibitively expensive, and the embassies may have issues with shipping costs from the USA since they are probably a lot higher than from the UK, so this may not work.
Tom
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