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Dell Offers Curbside Computer Recycling
schm00 writes "A Dell
press release today announced an expansion of thier recycling program. For $15 they will arrange to pick up used computer equipment from your home and transport it to an EPA approved recycler. You can order pickup starting on March 25th. It's nice to see an alternative to the darker side of computer recycling."
But not too old. From that page:
* Memory in quantities > 64 MB
* Desktop processors > 800 MHz
* Motherboards that support such processors
* Hard drives > 10 GB
* Laptops > 300 MHz
* Monitors, graphics cards, other similar goodies
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
In San Diego we have a company that will haul ANY electronics that has PCB's and CRTs for $0.39 a lb. Dell is gonna make a lot of money on this one. To think they are being nice to the enviroment too :P
I would assume that they strip 'em down for raw materials. There is a company where I live who buy electronic scrap, pick it apart and make a handsome profit by selling the gutted remains (glass, aluminium, gold and so on).
While I'm not an economist, you may be paying Dell to earn more money...
Everything in the world is controlled by a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one you know belongs.
I've come across something like this up here actually. It's obviously workable, as these guys have been doing it for a couple of years now.
It gets shipped to Tawain where there are no environmental laws on burning garbage. It is then melted down for it's metals (gold, silver, aluminum, etc.) and eventually sold back to us.
The Dutch taxing system holds that all computer components have to be sold with "recycling tax" included. And I was so looking forward to a Dell truck dropping by at my doorstep, too.
Jynx
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it well worth the effort.
They "transport it to an EPA approved recycler" like it says. Of course the real question is what to they do with it, which is covered here in a story aptly title Exporting Harm.
Quack, quack.
Don't forget about FreeGeek in Portland, Oregon and the Alameda County Computer Resource Center. The take donated equipment, recycle some and install Linux on the less antiquated computers for interesting projects and donation to needy individuals.
FreeGeek has an interesting concept: anyone who volunteers for 8 hours can take one of the Linux boxes home and take classes on how to use it.
There's a small profit to be made on scrap and precious metals that can be stripped out of old computers, which is part of the reason these non-profit organizations can sustain themselves. They don't charge for computer donations, but monitors are such a pain and hazard to dispose of properly there's a fee involved.
If anyone wants to start up something similar in Seattle, email my username at my homepage domain.