Recycling Computers

green | August 17th, 2010 - 8:13 PM

If your computer, fax machine, printer or other electronic equipment has given up the ghost and needs to be disposed of, do not throw it into the trash to become another problem for proper disposal. These items contain such contaminants as lead, mercury and toxic substances that make them ineligible to be disposed of in landfills. They should be recycled. Your dead PC is considered hazardous waste by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the problem this hazardous waste is creating is growing. In the United States alone, about 30 million computers are considered scrap each year, adding hazardous amounts of toxic chemicals into our land fills. And it is not just our computers that add to the problem but telecommunication and electric equipment does as well.

Here are several ways you can dispose of your computer or other electronic equipment and each, in their own way, are recycling programs. Not everything that is recycled is broken down and made into something else. Sometimes the item being recycled, like the computer, can be repaired and sold or donated. There are lists available from the National Directory of Computer Recycling Programs that will give you the name of someone that will recycle your old computer in your area.

There is also the Back Thru The Future Micro Computers, Inc. They will take all desktop equipment such as computers, monitors, etc. and recycle them for use by schools, governmental institutions and individuals. There are companies like East West Foundation that donate your recycled computer to non profit organizations after they have been repaired. There is also VOTC a charitable organization renowned for its work in Russia and in Mexico with street children. They will repair and use your computer and electronic equipment and software to benefit the education of these children. VOTC is an acronym for Voice of the Children.

Most electronic manufacturing programs have a recycling program of some sort, although the larger manufacturers will charge you a fee and want you to do the packing and to ship the item to them. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition publishes a report that will tell you which manufacturers that will responsibly take back and item for recycling.

As you can see, there are many governmental and nongovernmental agencies to which you can send your computer and other electronic equipment to be recycled. There are also some nongovernmental recyclers that will repair your old computers or electronics and sell them sharing the profit from the sale with you. Recycling your old or nonfunctioning computer or electronic equipment is not difficult. It does however require some research as to how you want to handle it and who you want to do the recycling. Your computer has treated you well over the years, so don’t just dump in on a heap and have it contribute to environmental pollution. Give it the opportunity to be useful again and perhaps add something to the life of someone who will not normally be able to afford it otherwise.

Thanks to Recycling Computers

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