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Office Depot Wants to Recycle Your Old Computer
IcerLeaf writes "CNN reports that Office Depot will happily recycle one old electronics item per customer, per day, from July 18th through September 6th. Qualifying electronics include computers, monitors, printers, scanners, fax machines, digital cameras, cell phones, and TVs 27" or smaller. Office Depot and Hewlett Packard will be splitting the bill. What's coming out of your basement?"
Two winters ago I had finally hit a breaking point of cruft. 11 computers weighed my personal space down, sparc servers and stations, sgi indigo2s and dumb terminals, countless x86 machines in varying states of decay. Sounds like you? In a panic, I updated my slashdot sig announcing that my lan was for sale, more of a joke to myself, a poke at my own sloth. Amazed at an almost immediate response with a serious inquiry, I reconsidered my offer and realized, "why not"? What had that pile of crap done for me? It caused me anguish, it made me think every single night coming home from work, "one of these days, I'm going to clean this place up". And so I went ahead with it, and sold everything on my lan for 400 dollars. I got 1 new machine with it, and 10 months later, an ibook (with other money) I haven't looked back since. In that time I've started, and completed, many of the mundane backburner projects that were always on-hold for seemingly forever. My point to this post is, if you haven't used a thing, and are keeping it because you think you might, why not just get rid of the thing (and this, a chance to do it properly, and for free!) and not let it vex you, sitting idle in the corner, calling out to your procrastinations ... (admittedly, 2 of the 3 boxes i mailed were lost or destroyed. the third, the cables, was received a-ok. the buyer was upset until i told him i had insured them. somewhere, there's a little old lady with a bright purple indigo2 full of potting soil and philodendrons ...)
slashdot: where everyone yells sarcastic metaphors to themselves to understand the issue
thats where I get rid of all my computer junk.
I have two defunct laser printers, probably at least one dead monitor, and some other misc. stuff to come out of my basement. Stuff that frankly is too expensive to ship to sell on ebay.
Craig Steffen
http://www.craigsteffen.net
Recycle your used tech with 5R Processors! They are the nation's largest computer recyclers and put a lot of the tech to work either through refurbished sales or donations.
Read jack phelps dot net
One a side note, if you have anything that works, it is possible to find charities that will accept old equipment (not too old, but not necessarily working.) You can write it off. I donated an old G3 last year and took a $200 write off.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I mean, now that it's dead and all ;)
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
People throwing stuff out when I could use something besides the 1994 era Pentium I have right now.
What's coming out of my basement? Heck, I'm going to go and stand in front of these stores and try to take the old stuff from people who are going to recycle it so I can add them to my collection!!
:-)
I'm still looking for that old atari and timex sinclair...
While I think this is great of Office Depot, I think re-implementing some of the older technology to maybe some younger siblings, cousins, Boys and Girls club, etc. could also be good. There are still a lot of people that can afford these types of things. So, before you go recycling that 486 at office depot, thing about re-deployment!
Don't dispose of your old monitors. They have lead and other hazardous materials that we really don't want in our groundwater. Please take this opportunity to have them disposed of properly.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
Stop filing Federal Taxes, then ignore their mail and phone calls. Oh, they'll take everything.
1) are they trying to get us into the store(s)? (hoping we'll do some business whilst we're there)
2) are they trying to do the public a service (by getting the possible toxic materials out of the dumps?
3) They're hoping (x)% of the materials turned in with have (y%) of redeeming worth, either directly, for sale on eBay, or as a donation to a local school as write-off donation?
It is impossible to get rid of monitors, at least here in Washington state. Even working monitors. Schools don't want them donated. Salvation Army and similar charities don't want them. You aren't allowed to throw them in the trash. All you can do is sell them, if you can find a buyer who actually wants one, or pay $10 for environmentally correct disposal. ($10 is for a 14" monitor; bigger ones cost more.)
So, this is a free service that is worth $10 or more if you need to get rid of a monitor. Cool.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
If you cut it in half diagonally, it'll still be a 36". I suggest cutting it vertically.
The companies would not disclose how much their program will cost, or how they're splitting the bill.
There's no cost. There's a lot of money to be had in the recycling industry -- especially in recycling electronics. They sound like they're just in it for environmental and humanitarian reasons, but they're in it for their wallets first and foremost.
Need to know where to go dumpster diving?
The proper question may be who is coming out the basement.
just = (My)Opinion.toCents();
My wife pointed out that ebay is one of the most powerful resources in recycling that we have today. I'd have to agree. I don't know what Office Depot is doing with these machines, but wouldn't you rather have your old gear to go someone that can make use of it?
For example, I recently got a "new" used car. It came with tired I didn't particularly like. I replaced the tires in fairly short order, and sold the old ones on ebay. They were a mis-matched pair. One pair I sold and because of shipping difficulties I ended up losing about $5 on it. That's less than the $20 I would have paid to take them to the dump, which is probably what would have happened if not for ebay. And now someone has a pair of tires in good shape that they can make use of.
The other pair I sold for $90, because they were not an "off brand".
I've been putting a bunch of my junk up for sale. Things that aren't really useful to me, but are to other folks. Plus, once in a while you come across the rare things like the Dreamcast Ethernet adapter that I sold for twice what I paid for it, or my classic HP calculator which looks like it will sell for almost twice what I paid for it.
Usually, I first offer it to local folks in my Linux Users Group. Selling is much easier that way, and you don't tend to have to muck around with shipping. ebay makes shipping pretty easy though.
So, remember that recycling isn't just about giving things to the "recycling centers". If you can get it to someone who can use it, all the better. If you can recover a few bucks in the process, all the better.
Sean
Recycling is better than throwing out, but I recall it only usually saving 20% energy. Reusing, on the other hand, is much more efficient.
My dog ate my sig
Boy will my girlfriend be happy when I finally get rid of that old flux capacitor I have sitting around. I recently upgraded to a 2.42 gigawatts flux capacitor for my time travels. Thats twice as good as the original! The old one has been rendered useless.
Must be the same "bill" as the one they have for recycling(gee, what swell guys) those $20 inkjet cartridges.
Seriously, corporations don't do jack unless they think it'll help them sell their wares. If Office Depot and HP aren't making money by giving all the junk to a recycling company, they're expecting to steal away customers from Staples and IBM, with good will. They're probably doing both.
Sorry, but touchy-feely posts about corporations doing "good stuff", like sponsoring breast cancer research(a favorite for companies looking to increase female customer numbers, such as BMW), disgusts me. Yes, the byproduct is "good stuff gets done"- but don't go on about them doing it from the bottom of their hearts or because they -care-. Corporations don't have hearts, and neither do boards or executive officers. They do it because they want to sell more stuff and want the PR points- it's pure greed.
Please help metamoderate.
I live around Boston, MA, and my roommate has been trying to get rid of an aging VGA monitor he bought on eBay for like 12 cents. After he found out it wouldn't fit on the shelf he wanted to use, he dumped it on the curb, only to learn the city wouldn't take it; they told him to take it to the dump. So of course, a week or so later, he goes to the dump, expecting to have to pay them to take it. The dump people tell him, "no, the city will take it for free; just leave it on the curb. We *can't* take it here." So this Monday, he leaves it on the curb, a little bit frustrated but happy to see it go.
What do I see while walking to my car this morning? His monitor, lying alone on the sidewalk, the only item left behind after the garbagemen visited.
So, thanks, Office Depot!
P.S. Go Earth.
Okay - I've got my tinfoil hat squarely on - and tongue in cheek.
:0
It occurs to me that this could be an evil plan to remove older technology from the potential hacking marketplace.
Think about it: everyone throws away their old computers (perfectly suitable as Linux workstations/servers) - forcing people who want to build low cost servers to buy new machines instead.
Taking this further into the realm of the strange, the move to force adoption of DRM technologies would get a boost in the arm from the acquisition of new computers due to the lack of used alternatives...
Okay...maybe not... (takes tinfoil hat off and slinks away)
Lodragan Draoidh
The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
Twice a year up in Princeton, Minnesota they have a machine gun shoot (www.tankrides.com). Now, regardless of what your opinion of guns are - pulling off 100 rounds from an M-60, AK-47 or an M-16, I tell you, nothing compares.
.50 cal through it.
I stockpile old computer equipment to take up to the shoot so I can put a few rounds of
There's nothing like pulling the trigger on a Barrett 50 cal sniper rifle and watching that old server that gave you years of grief explode.
It's beautiful.
Good security is based upon reality and common sense. Common sense is a function of having common knowledge.
Electronics Recycling takes all kinds of stuff. They recycle everything on the Accepted Materials list. Best of all, if you drop it off there's no charge!
They have a location in Scarborough at:
Unit# 14 - 80 Midwest Rd
Scarborough ON M10 4R2
416-285-0588
9-5 Monday to Friday
We use them all the time. It's way better than paying the city to just have the stuff tossed in the dump anyway.
The US Army: promoting democracy through unquestioned obedience
Also, the article specifically mentions Dell's recycling efforts:
"Computer makers such as Round Rock-based Dell Inc. have stepped up programs to take back old PCs"
No mention of HP, though, so maybe HP is just doing a better job of publicizing their program, despite being about half a year later than Dell.
Would they mind if I filled my tower computer cases and TV sets insides with other junk I want to get rid of (wood shavings, cat litter, etc...)
It will be like you are giving Office Depot a christmas in July present....of cat feces...
Puts me into the holiday mood!
They're going to spend technician time at $30 an hour to fix up (or dismantle) now-worth-$20 laser printers that they have to ship to anyone at $30 plus packaging? Not to mention the enormous amount of broken / hopelessly outmoded / unsellable computers? Or to wipe the hard drives? Even to traige this equipment into saleable v. nonsaleable would wipe out the price delta immediately.
By the way, speaking as someone who's spent a lot of time at various nonprofits, please don't be so casual about kicking used tech equipment to them; 90%+ are white elephants that end up taking up much more time, space, etc., than they're worth; only give something away if you talk to them about it first. (and are willing to support it if it comes down to that.)
Hehehe.....and if they ever throw out a big SPOOL....now that's just great coffee/dining room table material. Goes perfect with the orange velour couch you find....
College room decorating at its best. A spool...obnoxious couch...and walls decorated in 'early American rock poster'.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
#1. The tech is OLD. It will fail. Why should they spend $50 for a replacement power supply when a brand new box is $199?
#2. The tech is SLOW. Again, a new box costs $199 and runs 10x faster than the old stuff.
#3. When they finally do buy the $199 stuff, they'll be stuck with the recycling costs of your old stuff.
Of course, none of this matters if you also give your time and expertise to keep it running and so on. Those older machine can make great servers and firewalls, if you will set them up and maintain them.
Seriously, corporations don't do jack unless they think it'll help them sell their wares.
Sweeping statements like that are generally wrong.
Corporations are not Borg entities. They are made up of individuals. Sometimes the individuals can successfully push the company into doing some Good Things, and guess what? Those individuals might not be the souless, calculating evil bastards you seem to think they are.
It's true that corporations often do good things that might in some way benefit them. That's called "doing well by doing good" and I don't have a problem with it. You shouldn't, either.
Corporations don't have hearts, and neither do boards or executive officers.
It's healthy to be a bit suspicious of companies; don't accept their press releases without a grain of salt. But you sound like someone who has gone overboard the other way. All corporations are not the same, and everyone who works for a corporation is not necessarily evil.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
So that's where it came from!!
I just posted elsewhere that if you live in Boston you can, in fact, do this. The City of Boston will come to your house and take away monitors and TVs FOR FREE. All you have to do is call them.
u sw aste.asp
http://www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks/hazardo
Of course, if you live elsewhere you usually have to pay money, get stickers and drive the stuff to your local DPW dump.
-EvilMagnus
Seriously, corporations don't do jack unless they think it'll help them sell their wares.
I suppose that at the Fortune 500 company I've worked at for 22+ yrs, that that's the reason they've sponsored:
1. Local races supporting cancer research, and children with brain damange
2. Annual creek cleanup
3. United Way...every year
4. Matching funds donations to numerous charities (I've written many personal checks that were doubled up)
5. Etc.,...I'm sure if I spent ten minutes, I could triple this list.
Yes, they're in business to make money, but to insist that all that stuff is done just to sell our wares is nothing but crap. I personally know a couple of VPs at major companies, and my dad was a business owner...they are REAL people, and they didn't all get there by being cold hearted SOBs.
Just another day in Paradise
Unless you are absolutely sure that you have completely sanitized it. We have all seen reports here and elsewhere of banks/companies who have sold formatted hard drives where confidential data was still recovered.
I take old stuff from corporations and individuals and refurbish it and resell it cheap to the needy or young upstart SOHO's....
I take in more stuff than they do and I am,
1. disabled
2. working alone
Come on guys, you can do better than that.
My typical daily run (pick up)is 20 laserjets, 4-5 21" CRT's, +/- a dozen PC's, 6-10 injets, and 2-300 lbs of cables and wall-warts.
If I can do it this much by myself and disabled at that, they can do better. And I DO NOT throw ANY of it away, it ALL goes back to someone. A lot of it I simply refurbish and give away or trade away just to keep it from piling up.
shameless plug, http://www.SystemRecycler.com
.
Hello,
The answer is simple. I belong to a third group: women who, sometimes, enjoy joking and burning karma. Jokes might be good (or bad ones), but they are just jokes, and they pretend to be just jokes. I do not pretend to catch everybody's attention, but your comment really does.
Kisses
--
You'd stumble in my footsteps (Depeche Mode, "Walking in my shoes")
I lost my reeboks, so I'm wearing a pair of old Acer monitors. So much for my deep, dark secret.
xScruffx
You know, people will take these things even when you're honest with them.
My parents moved a few years ago from a 3000 sq.ft. house into an 800 sq. ft. condominium. Needless to say, not all their belongings would make the move with them.
My mother sold the best, yard-saled what she could, and then started making a habit of putting things out on the lawn every Tuesday afternoon with a big sign marked "FREE!". By evening, the lawn was empty, except for the sign -- and sometimes that was taken too.
After three months of her Tuesday give-aways, my mother had ridden herself of all the things she wasn't going to take with her. So, the Tuesday before the movers were scheduled to arrive, there came a knock on the door at 3:00 p.m. A shy, sheepish man with a wrinkled, stained shirt asked her if anything was available that day. My mother said no, wished him a good day, and closed the door.
She was surprized that he had the nerve to ask. She was ever more surprized when people came knocking all that afternoon and evening.
Thankfully, that's not true.
There are lots of companies that do things out of simple charity, and the desire to do something positive for the community. Now, I have to admit, it used to be infinitely more common before giant evil conglomerates took over, and started killing kittens to make another cent every quarter. However, there are still a few companies around that aren't evil.
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant