Taking a Crack At Recycling E-Waste

An anonymous reader wrote to mention a New York Times article being hosted at News.com. It touches on a new initiative in upstate New York to deal with the problem of e-waste. The Town of North Hempstead has positioned helpers at the dump the last four weekends, assisting people with a flood of old monitors, keyboards, laptops, word processors, and even a Pong game or two. Besides the obvious benefit of getting this junk out of our homes, the article highlights why this should be a growing concern around the country. From the article: "While federal law regulates the disposal of electronics by businesses and government agencies, it does not affect individual consumers, who account for more than half the e-waste produced annually, according to the federal agency. Every old computer monitor contains about four pounds of lead, and other parts are filled with heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, cadmium and chromium. They have toxins that hover in the air after incineration or leach into the water supply when buried in landfills. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh say that dumps around the nation's major cities, including New York, hold more than 60 million computers."

Obligatory

[jpaz (512242)]

This post made with 100% recycled electrons.

Re:

[by Anonymous Coward]

I can tell. It looks like you just took /dev/null and shook it out over the keyboard. PLEASE take your bit bucket to the recycling center in the future instead of just dumping it.

So how much of that stuff gets...

[Channard (693317)]

.. 'helped' onto E-Bay. If it's working or repairable, I guess some of the stuff gets pocketed and recycled onto E-Bay or put into home use. You can replace the batteries on defunct iPods for example. My own iPod mini, for example, was screwed, but I managed to get the 4GB drive out of it, which was working fine, and the drive now stores my music for my 360.

What about dumping in rural China?

[IntelliAdmin (941633)]

I think one of the solutions is to get companies to donate old equipment, or give it to organizations that will fix it up and give to the needy. I have seen companies trash perfectly good computers, but refuse to give them to anyone. These computers were far from useless, and could be used by grandma to get email and surf the net. I think if these type of programs were setup at companies it would reduce the level of waste considerably.

Still we need a solution to the problem of lead and other toxic chemicals leached into the soil. That makes me wonder...what happened to all the stories of businesses dumping this type of waste in rural China?

Steve Wiseman
http://www.windows-admin-tools.com [windows-admin-tools.com]

Re:

[ScrewMaster (602015)]

I think there's a certain degree of (not entirely unjustified) paranoia on the part of corporations that are afraid of confidential information that might leave on old systems. They figure it's just better to have the stuff destroyed rather than risk some ghetto kid getting hold of next year's financial projections.

Re:What about dumping in rural China?

[gbjbaanb (229885)]

Most of the problem isn't about corporate data - any charity that recycles computers guarantees that the data is wiped and uses specialist equipment to clean the drives, but that they only accept relatively good computers.

Look at ComputerAid International [computeraid.org] that uses MoD-specified data wiping tools, but won't accept anything less than a 450Mhz P3.

Re:

[mrmeval (662166)]

Reusing computers is a good idea. With the current increase in metals pricing it becomes desirable to reclaim the metals. Within 30 years you will see 'landfill mining' to recover, metal, plastic, rubber and organics. I would suggest investing in a large one. :)

Why not...

[b0s0z0ku (752509)]

just keep computers longer and not toss them every 2 years. My HP Kayak Station ca. 1999 works just fine for word processing and 'net surfing. Which is all fully half of users probably need.

-b.

Re:

[hotdiggitydawg (881316)]

Or FreeCycle [freecycle.org] them. If they no longer meet your needs there's bound to be someone else whose needs they do meet.

Re:

[falconwolf (725481)]

just keep computers longer and not toss them every 2 years. My HP Kayak Station ca. 1999 works just fine for word processing and 'net surfing. Which is all fully half of users probably need.

Keep computers for two years? I wish I could afford to replace mine every two years. The one I'm typing this on I got in 2000, it's almost 7 years old. Another one I have, on the other side of my chair, I got in 1997 so it's 9 years old. The only reason I got the newer one is because the older one is a DEC Alpha an

Re:

[ScrewMaster (602015)]

I generally don't dump entire computers anyway. I agree with you: you don't need a 2 Ghz machine to read mail and browse and write letters. I tend to upgrade my machines piecemeal over time, consequently I put relatively little old hardware into the local landfill. People that toss an entire system in the dumpster because they feel the need for a new one are most of the problem.

Re:

[wall0159 (881759)]

What are you - some kind of communist?!?

Silliness aside, our entire economy is geared towards encouraging (though maybe 'coercing' or 'brainwashing' would be better words) people to spend and consume more. Your suggestion, while fair and reasonable, is unlikely to happen while the marketing-droids hold the reins of our society.

In my opinion, geeks/nerds are particularly big suckers for marketing hype. Just as bad as the fashion victims...

Re:

[b0s0z0ku (752509)]

Yes, there are leftover copies of windows 98, but it's unstable, unsuported and a hassle to set up.

2k isn't that much more resource hungry. Also, there's the option of Ubuntu or some other easy to use distro of Linux. Will work just fine for Web surfing and word processing/DB/spreadsheets. It even works with a lot of digicams.

-b.

Re:

[undeaf (974710)]

2k isn't being sold anymore either, and it was expensive and AFAIK there aren't all that many copies out there among consumers, and then there's the question of how many of those that have it would want to part with it. Most people haven't even heard about linux, and most of those that did probably think of it as "something only for crazy nerds" or something along those lines.

Yes, recycling computers is definitly doable, the problem isn't how hard it is for someone who actually wants to do it, the problem i

Re:

[b0s0z0ku (752509)]

2k isn't being sold anymore either, and it was expensive and AFAIK there aren't all that many copies out there among consumers, and then there's the question of how many of those that have it would want to part with it.

A lot of older - ca 1999 - hardware is licensed to use 2k anyway (and thus has a valid key). If you don't have the disk, you can always get a pirated copy - MS isn't losing anything since the hardware is licensed to use 2k anyway (that is, if you care about MS losing money).

-b.

North Hempstead isn't in upstate New York

[Vultan (468899)]

It's as "downstate" as you can get, on Long Island. The recycling company is upstate in Buffalo, NY.

Re:

[MadEE (784327)]

Pthhh. Only if your a conformist sheep and follow the heard by holding the map with North on the top. Real men don't confine themselves by such frivolous things such as standards!

Works for me.

[Ant P. (974313)]

There's a recycling site near here, and the best part is they don't mind people taking away stuff that's been left there (with the usual disclaimers). It's a bit depressing to find out some people will throw away perfectly fine (and often new) PCs just because the windows installed on it got spyware.

Re:

[ScrewMaster (602015)]

It's a bit depressing to find out some people will throw away perfectly fine (and often new) PCs just because the windows installed on it got spyware..

Well, when I have people over for dinner and somebody says something like "No thanks, I don't like mashed potatoes" I just say, "Goody .. more for me."

Re:

[Durrok (912509)]

What kind of commie doesn't like mashed potatoes?

Re:

[Lumpy (12016)]

Post an ad in the paper, you pay $10.00 for computers for recycling. My son got 5 P-4 1.8ghz machines that way (I know omg, how fricking slow!) for almost nothing.

Most rich people think it's cheaper to buy a new Dell every 6 months than call the idiots at "geek squad" to tinker for a few hours and then charge $300+ for cleaning the PC when you can get a new one for $250.00-$280.00.

Yet again, Zonk gets it wrong

[Yeechang Lee (3429)]

North Hempstead is on Long Island, and is thus not in upstate New York [wikipedia.org]. (And, no, the word "upstate" is found nowhere in the original article; Times writers and editors know what upstate encompasses, even if Zonk doesn't). This is as incorrect as saying that Pasadena is in the San Francisco Bay area or that Palo Alto is in the Southland.

Is this new?

[pe1chl (90186)]

Are the United States really so far behind in environmental issues?
I understood from Bush that he does not really care about the environment (relative to other issues), but I would think that lower levels of government would already have acted more responsibly.

Over here, the separated collection of waste, including separate places where electronic waste (computers, household electronics) has been in place for many years.
We even pay a small fee on new equipment to pay for the recycling of old equipment.

I think the US should change from "we only care about economics and hate to pay for others" into something more responsible.

Schools and Gov't Agencies

[robinesque (977170)]

We have about 60 HP Vectras sitting in a closet at my school. They're being used for nothing, and the school district refuses to let them go. So they're going to have to be thrown away. I know any number of people that would like to pick one up to play with, whether to use it as a spare Linux box, or simply to take apart and salvage parts out of. But the district can't get out of it's own way to put them to use, so they're probably going to sit in that closet until someone can take them to the dump.

The hardest part is almost done

[Neoncow (802085)]

The hardest part is sorting out the ones and the zeros without generating more ones and zeros than you started with. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University believe they are on the cusp of a major breakthrough in the E-Waste initiative.

$100 Computers

[mykepredko (40154)]

While probably not solving the problem but displacing it, how about using old computers for the $100 computer initiative for developing countries.

They would definitely use more power than the $100 computers designed for this purpose but chances are they would provide the same amount of processing power, better graphics, more hard drive space and would have available monitors and network/WiFi adapters.

As I said, that this is displacing the problems as now the developing countries will have to deal with the waste at some point in time. But, it could give their economies & education systems a much needed boost.

myke

My suggestion for a general solution

[marcello_dl (667940)]

1. Each thing sold must be taxed for its recycling (kind of an additional VAT, with standard amount for item category and the possibility for sellers to certify a different packaging or item composition which gives em a discount)

2. Consumers can either choose to dump stuff in the bin or go to recycling sites and get refunded for the amount and quality of the material they give back.

IMHO that would pressure producers to consider packaging more carefully, let consumers get something in return for the effort o

Re:

[rduke15 (721841)]

That's about how it works in some European countries.

Each thing sold must be taxed

There is a specific recycling tax on electronics equipment, paid by the shop to the distributor, or directly by the end user to the supplier (in cases like direct orders from Dell, Apple, etc.).

The amount is small (around 1%).

However, you are not allowed to just throw the stuff away in a rubbish bin. It must be brought back either to a recycling place, or to any shop around the corner selling the same type of equipment.

The sho

E-waste

[akar_naveen (677699)]

At first sight the word e-waste looked like it meant waste data. Does anyone else think it's a misnomer?

It could be just me. I was just shopping online for a second external hard drive after the first one got full, with some useful but mostly 'can't delete yet-might need in future' kind of stuff.

How dare you!?

[dangitman (862676)]

Pong is junk? Blasphemy!! Burn the witch!

Next thing you'll be saying is Pacman is gay. Hello? Ms. Pacman? Pacman is a red-blooded heterosexual disc with a triangle cut out.

The easy solution

[billsoxs (637329)]

There is a place close to me, called erecycler [channeladvisor.com], that resells a bunch of things - mostly used computers from businesses and schools. This is a really good way to cut down on the waste. (Yes eventually it does wearout but this gives it a longer life.) I've bought stuff from them with good luck.

Recycle NYC

[Doc Ruby (173196)]

The Lower East Side Ecology Center [lesecologycenter.org] is running an electronics recycling event [lesecologycenter.org] today, coordinated by Manhattan Boro President Stringer, the NYC Council (City legislature), and the Upper West Side councilmember, Gale Brewer:

Electronic Recycling Drop-Off Event
Sunday, November 12th, 8am to 12:30pm
Lincoln Center - Service Road

We will accept working and non-working computers, laptops, monitors, printers, keyboards, mice, cables, TVs and VCRs(no wooden consoles only plastic case models), fax machines, cell phones and pagers.

Saturday, December 9th, 8am to 4pm at PS 321
180 7th Avenue, between 1st & 2nd Streets
Park Slope, Brooklyn

Sunday, January 7th, 2007, 8am to 4pm
4th annual 'After the Holidays' event at Union Square Park - North Plaza 17th St & Broadway

Brewer and Stringer are promoting a new City law, Intro 104, to require manufacturers to recycle products in a complete product lifecycle:

Intro. 104, sponsored by Council Member Bill De Blasio, which would require manufacturers to collect discarded electronic products. Intro. 104, the Electronics Recycling and Reuse Act, would remove many of these products from landfills and incinerators currently used by the City of New York, as these products pose an environmental risk when burned, buried or recycled improperly.

The Council's Technology in Government [nyccouncil.info] committee is running a public feedback survey [surveymonkey.com] on recycling.

When the World Is Running Down" [sing365.com] by the Police

Turn on my V.C.R., same one I've had for years
James Brown on the T.A.M.I show,
Same tape I've had for years
I sit in my old car, same one I've had for years
Old battery's running down, it ran for years and years

Turn on the radio, the static hurts my ears
Tell me, where would I go? I ain't been out in years
Turn on the stereo, it's played for years and years
An Otis Redding song, it's all I own

When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around

fundamental problem

[v1 (525388)]

The funadamental problem with computers is the nature of their design, or rather, the current easiest/cheapest methods. Take a look at a lot of the current day products and how easy some of them are to recycle. A lot of kids toys are made of one giant piece of plastic, all the same kind of plastic. Most food containers are now that way too. Computers can't be made that way. They are a very diverse collection of parts, assembled in ways not meant to be disassembled, and the parts are so small and so numerous that even if you wanted to take them apart it would be very difficult work. I can't imagine how long it would take someone to take apart a motherboard into recyclable pieces. Optical drives, power supplies, fans, none of these lend themselves well to recycling. We can't just keep burying our trash, that doesn't make the problem go away, it just pushes it off on the next generation to deal with. Eventually we are going to have to deal with all our trash.

Really it would not surprise me if in say, 50 years, there is an entire industry of waste reclamation, where a company bids on and BUYS a landfill, and sends in machines to process the garbage and make a proffit off what's reclaimed.

Not everything old is junk

[Zedrick (764028)]

From TFA:

old Commodore Plus/4's with cracker crumbs in the keys

Aaaargh! A Commodore Plus/4 should not be thrown away/recycled. I would pay up to $100 for a Plus/4 depending on condition and serial numhber, and it's irrelevant if it's filled with cracked crumbs or not.

This is like saying "Oh, I'll just get rid of these 2000-year old Roman coins, they can't be used in the store anymore."

If you have some old 70's or 80's (or "exotic" 90's) hardware in the wardrobe, please please please don't get rid of it before first spending 5 minutes on google to see if there might be collectors that are looking for *your* wardrobe-"junk".

I'll lie sleepless tonight, thinking about morons who might throw away their old Commodore C65 or Commodore MAX without having any idea how invaluable they are. Even common things like a C64C are still in demand, although you won't get that much for it.

Reuse before recycle

[drwho (4190)]

Instead of just grinding up 4 year old computers, they can be put to other uses. There ought to be more effort put into reuse before recycle. For instance, if you have some old computer you need to get rid of, at least post it up on the free section of craigslist or freecycle first. You don't even have to make a big fuss about it. Just tell people to pick it up off your porch, or say you've put it on the curb for the trash collectors the next morning, someone hurry and get it if they want. Just communicate! It doesn't take much effort.

This doesn't go for just computers. You might be surprised how easy it is to get rid of everything from old clothes to building material to cellphones.

Re:

[clarkc3 (574410)]

besides software word processors, you used to be able to buy hardware ones that were the equivilent of a really fancy typewriter. I know I used one for a year or two before I got my first computer back around 1996

Re:

[daeg (828071)]

Before PCs were widespread, there were standalone typewriter-style word processors. It was basically a small computer + keyboard + printer built into one. It typically could save the documents to a small bit of memory or external diskettes (although really early models didn't save). Later models had more formatting options (such as bold, underline, text alignment...), things that traditional typewriters didn't have (without swapping or using very expensive models).

Re:

[Yartrebo (690383)]

Every typewriter can do bold and underline. To underline, you press backspace then underscore. To bold, you press backspace then press the same letter again.

Re:"word processors"????

[cayenne8 (626475)]

"A beep? You spring chicken! I always heard a "ding"..."

Heheh...I hear ya.

Was funny, the other day I was with a friend who is collecting and restoring old pinball machines. The 'digital' ones are quite fun, but, I'd forgotten about what a real pinball machine was supposed to sound like until I got onto his selection of EM machines, that had actual bells, and chimes on them for sounds.

The clicking and clacking of the score reals, especially when resetting for a new game.....ahhh...was like reliving some old childhood dreams.

There are just some things where analog will always be superior IMHO to digital....

Re:"word processors"????

[N3Roaster (888781)]

I think you may just be too young. Before home computers were commonplace, there were these machines that were sort of like a computer, printer, monitor, and keyboard stuffed into the same box, but the computer part only ran primitive word processing software. It was a step up from the typewriter (saving, editing, printing multiple copies, keys generally didn't jam up), but not as expensive as a computer+monitor+printer+software. These were called word processors.

Re:

[ScrewMaster (602015)]

Yes, equipment from Videc and Wang, among others. There were also a number of dedicated CAD systems of similar vintage.

Re:

[Salgak1 (20136)]

A lot of history.

Before the PC, was the ,<a href="http://www.digibarn.com/collections/systems/ wang2200a/">Wang Word Processor</a>

The link shows some of the later ones. I remember one, in the Air Force, the size of an <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/026.htm l">old keypunch machine</a>.

Some of us started coding on keypunch. . . then some rich kid brought some fad called an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_PC">IBM PC</a> into the dorm. 4.77 Mhz. 16

Re:

[loconet (415875)]

I would disagree [myspace.com]

Re:

[kfg (145172)]

What am I missing?

Age.

KFG

Re:

[mikael (484)]

The e-waste is a bit misleading. Basically, they are talking about hardware that is no longer compatible - stuff like non plug'play accessories (14.4K modems), RS-232 mice, CRT monitors (all that lead and coppper) and old-fashioned word processors.

The very earliest word processors were electric typewriters with a LCD display [theoriginalgift.co.uk] that could store one line
of text. You could type in a line of text, make corrections, and when you pressed return, that line was
printed. These are still being manufactured (finding this

Re:

[Random Destruction (866027)]

Remember, though, that recycle isn't only about energy. It's alsto about saving materials.

Re:

[falconwolf (725481)]

Perhaps the nation as a whole should put more effort into recycling e-waste and less into the more inefficient plastics and glass

There's no reason plastics and glass along with e-waste can't be recycled. I recall as a kid in the 1970s walking around collecting bottles, cans, and jars then taking them to recycling centers for a little more spending money. Sometimes I'd find returnable coke bottles too. Now instead of being paid to recycle you're taxed to have recycles picked up, in areas that separate

Re:Redirecting recycling efforts?

[couchslug (175151)]

Steel is quite efficient too. I'll take all I can get, because the nice folks at the scrapyard pay me for it.
I find the whole e-waste thing questionable for one reason.

I buy cars to part out and then send to the crusher.
A car has hundreds of pounds of plastic, glass, and miscellaneous metals including lead in the battery.
I watch those cars go straight into the crusher.

When I have old comps and monitors and televisions, they go into those cars along with a wide variety of scrap from my shop.
The folks crushing the cars don't care, and the materials are sorted at the shredder.

There is nothing in the computers that isn't in the cars, so why not scrap them together? The computer waste stream is dwarfed by the auto recycling stream, and the auto recycling process is highly refined.

Re:

[marcello_dl (667940)]

Since at least 30% of said cluster nodes would not work because the equipment is borked, it would approximate the functionality of a windows cluster. Not cool.

Re:

[rduke15 (721841)]

how lead that's locked in CRT glass can end up in the water table

Well, it isn't locked. Have you ever seen a monitor with a lock?