Old Unusable Computers

[disney junky]

We have quite a selection. Two old macs and an old laptop. What can be done with these that's ecologically friendly?

 

[minniecarousel]

Around here there are a few recycling sites that are advertised locally. Maybe check with your garbage company. I remember that 60 minutes or 20/20 had a story on how these old computers from the USA get dumped onto some Asian country, when they were supposed to be dismantled and recycled here.

 

[agnes!]

I would Google "eco-friendly" or "green" + computer recycling. For instance, there's a company in the metro DC area called "Keep It Green". They actually recycle the donated electronics(computers, printers, CPUs, monitors, calculators, etc.) in the *US* - Baltimore to be precise.

agnes!

 

[Anewman]

Around here there are monthly(or so) round ups, they set up drop off centers for the local communities.

 

[bicker]

We're about to lose that service; it is becoming just too expensive for our town to pay the costs of disposal of old televisions and computers, so effective sometime this Spring, they're going to stop picking them up as refuse and require that they be disposed of through certified hazardous waste disposal services.

 

[Ephany]

If you're in Washington or Oregon, I think you'll be able to recycle them for free. I'm not sure about the details, but it sounds like a good program.

 

[Nette]

Find a donation site. You'd be surprised what can be salvaged from an old computer to create usable computers for schools and low income families.

 

[bicker]

More and more, the places around here that used to take computers as a donation are charging to take computers off your hands, or refusing to accept computers as donations.

 

[DeniseHop]

http://www.wmescraptracker.com/

 

[bicker]

http://www.wmescraptracker.com/

I think a lot of my older computers have cabinets larger than 18x18. I wonder if you can take the motherboards out of old computers and put them in these boxes. So if you can take the motherboards off, I think you can break the cabinet in half, showing that there is no electronics inside, and dispose of it with the regular trash.