Methods For Computer And Monitor Disposal? 17
po_boy asks: "given the recent law passed in Massachusetts, which prevents people from just throwing away old computers and monitors, I was wondering what some of the alternative ways of disposing old hardware are. Ideally, I'd like to be able to help an organization by giving them my old hardware, but I understand that I hold on to my hardware so long and cannibalize it so much that often it is of no use to anyone when I no longer want it. What, then, is the best way to dispose of my hardware in order to ensure that it will be at least recycled if not re-used?"
I expect little from Massacusetts. (Score:2)
- A.P.
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"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad
No good option here (Score:2)
The answer to that question is that no one is going to take that sort of equipment. This is one reason the Microsoft/Intel upgrade merry-go-round ticks me off - the very structure of the industry guarantees that you will have to simply throw away your current computer and most if not all of its peripherals in a few years. (One of the reasons I buy really cheap computers, but fairly nice printers and monitors.)
Anyway, the only thing you can do is throw it away. As a previous poster pointed out, even that can be problematic in many areas. Fortunately, even with the Loony Left running Austin and imposing Public Waste policies worthy of the KGB on us, you can still throw away *anything* as long as it's in your city-supplied trash can. There's a huge list of things they say they won't take (rocks, and construction debris, for instance), but if you can get it into the trash can, it all just disappears. You can throw away anything that will fit in the trash can with no trouble at all: mercury, radioactive iodine, Plutonium powder, anything, just so long as it's in the official, approved pay-as-you-throw container. With the rates they charge for trash service here, I don't feel even a little bit guilty about throwing away anything I can manage to stuff in the can.
Austin's policy is incredibly stupid, though - if you were trying to build a policy that provided the maximum incentive possible for people to just dump crud into the canyons, you couldn't do any better than the policy the city has. I know a lot of people that find it cheaper and easier to dump (especially things like trimmed branches and grass clippings, which are really hard to get rid of) than put up with the city's restrictions. Sad, really.
Re:What if everyone did this?!?!?!?!? (Score:2)
Re:Law just passed in Massachusetts (Score:1)
Hadn't heard that one before. I usually just call this wonderful Kennedy spawning ground Taxachusetts.
Re:No good option here (Score:1)
I'm just amazed that this isn't a city/town/whatever service. If you are outside the city limits, you can haul your own trash to the dump, that's alright, but when you live in the 'city' (Rochester isn't really a city), that sort of thing should just be done. Bah!
Score (-17, way the heck off topic)
[back on topic now]
Try freeboxen.com for getting rid of old parts (that work, or some that don't) - it's amazing, but *somebody* just might want it.
Freeboxen.com (Score:5)
What if everyone did this?!?!?!?!? (Score:1)
You can throw away anything that will fit in the trash can with no trouble at all: mercury, radioactive iodine, Plutonium powder
Yeah, yeah, and can't you just see one of those bulldozers pushing together a few garbage truck loads of plutonium powder and starting a critical reaction!
Austin would get nuked, the Gulf of Mexico would glow, and Dubya would take credit for the unique environmental niches he's created for radioactive mutant beasties.
Do what I do, fill film containers with your waste plutonium and drop them in the film developing boxes.
George
Re:think precious metals (Score:1)
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This post made from 100% post-consumer recycled magnetic
Why? (Score:1)
Re:Why? (Score:1)
Careful about putting it in a closet: we've got an 8-node Pentium II Beowulf in a smallish room, and when all of them are doing things (like RC5, that's all it ever seems to be doing), the room gets _very_ warm. Nice in winter though (hey, use it to save on heating bills!).
Depends on how serious you are (Score:1)
It may not be environmentally correct... (Score:1)
I lost my best 'shooting old PC hardware' links, does anybody have some to contribute?
think precious metals (Score:1)
that reclaim precious metals from circuit boards
and such.
Slashdot readers are probably most all like you -
we use and reuse our PC hardware for so long
they're not even useful to charities when we get
done with them.
Freeboxen? (Score:3)
WWW.Freeboxen.com
you put your stuff up, and the buyer usually pays
s&h.
Just thought I'd let ya's know
Re:Freeboxen.com (Score:2)
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The Adventures of Open Souce Man!
Law just passed in Massachusetts (Score:1)
Plenty of options... (Score:1)
1. Donate them to a local prison. They'll almost certainly take them, and they'll take all of the used books you can't pawn off on the local used book store too.
2. Check with the local charities like Opportunity Village, or others with retail second hand goods stores.
3. Most state universities participate in a program called "Creative Re-use of Educational Materials" or something like that. Check with a nearby University and see if they'll take the stuff off your hands.
4. Short of that, most universities sell big lots of antique computer hulks for scrap metal. I'm sure they'd dispose of it for you.
Hope this helps.
-Andy