Where do old computers go to die?

I have 5 or 6 old computer carcasses in my basement. Most of them are
AT form factor cases and motherboards, Pentium CPUs, small IDE disk
drives. Obsolete stuff that I can't think of any use for. Most of them
still work, or would with a little work.

What should I do with this junk? I don't expect it would be worth the
effort to sell the stuff considering the pennies I might get for them.
I believe I'd have to pay to have them taken away as trash, since
electronics are usually classified as hazardous material.

So, is paying to junk them the only way? Or is there another solution
I'm not thinking of? I'd really like to get rid of some dust collectors
and reclaim the storage space in my house.

Oh, and one of the computers is an "antique" Apple ][+. It still worked
when I last fired it up a few years ago. Maybe those are "collectible"?

Nil wrote:
I have 5 or 6 old computer carcasses in my basement. Most of them are
AT form factor cases and motherboards, Pentium CPUs, small IDE disk
drives. Obsolete stuff that I can't think of any use for. Most of them
still work, or would with a little work.

What should I do with this junk? I don't expect it would be worth the
effort to sell the stuff considering the pennies I might get for them.
I believe I'd have to pay to have them taken away as trash, since
electronics are usually classified as hazardous material.

So, is paying to junk them the only way? Or is there another solution
I'm not thinking of? I'd really like to get rid of some dust collectors
and reclaim the storage space in my house.

Oh, and one of the computers is an "antique" Apple ][+. It still worked
when I last fired it up a few years ago. Maybe those are "collectible"?

When you buy a new computer here, you pay a "disposal fee".

If you take that computer to one of our recyclers, they
take it "for nothing". And in return, they get some of
the disposal fee from the government. The fee is pure bunk,
and the amount is made up in the head of a civil servant.
For example, when a farmer wants to buy a new set of tires
for the tractor, the fee the farmer pays may include an
extra $1000 for the government. Somehow, it's difficult to
chip up a tractor tire and make rubber pellets ? They used
to chip tires and use them (somehow) as part of road surfaces.

Computers are supposed to enter a big chipping mill, but
again, I haven't seen any pictures of it. And as has been
noted in the past, old computers are just as likely
to end up, intact, in China or India, as to go to the
chipping mill to be ground into pieces and the metals
recycled. At the port in Vancouver, there have been
reports of entire containers of PCs leaving port
by ship, on their way to be "cooked" by people
without adequate breathing protection. So once you leave
a PC with a recycler, you have no idea whether a dude in
India pays a higher rate, than the government recycling
fee and recycling path.

At least the recycling plants are spacious.

http://www.vancouversun.com/technolo...833/story.html

Paul

On 09 Sep 2015, Paul wrote in
alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:

When you buy a new computer here, you pay a "disposal fee".

Most of my junk computers are ones I parted together myself. I've
never actually bought an off-the-shelf computer. I've been planning
to build a new one, but this fact you mention makes me think I
should consider one just to get rid of an old one. It's like the new
bed I just bought. I paid a fair price for the new mattress and
foundation, but I could have gotten one a bit cheaper... if I had
been willing to transport the new one home and somehow get rid of
the old one. The convenience of having the new one delivered and
carried to the 3rd floor and having the old one taken away was worth
something to me.

At least the recycling plants are spacious.

http://www.vancouversun.com/technolo...833/story.html

Very interesting article. I have wondered where all that stuff went.
The article is a little cagey about some things, but I think I can read
more of the story between the lines. Someone in China or Vietnam is
breathing my old lead and mercury vapor.

But my problem remains: is there anything else I can do with my old
computers other than paying to turn them in for recycling?

Perhaps donate them to schools so that the kids can learn to troubleshoot
and repair. I have done this a couple of times here in Southern
California. Give them a call and ask if interested.

T2

On 09 Sep 2015, MrTsquare wrote in
alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:

Perhaps donate them to schools so that the kids can learn to
troubleshoot and repair. I have done this a couple of times here
in Southern California. Give them a call and ask if interested.

I would like to do that, and I think I will look into it. But do you
really think they can make use of such old machines? Some of these ran
Windows 98 and 2000 and were replaced because they weren't capable of
running the next generation OS.

But I will check. The worst they could say is, "no", and maybe I'll be
pleasantly surprised. As I said, I mainly just want them gone, but
something in my doesn't want a working computer shredded or tossed in a
landfill, no matter how obsolete it is.

Nil wrote:

I have 5 or 6 old computer carcasses in my basement. Most of them are
AT form factor cases and motherboards, Pentium CPUs, small IDE disk
drives. Obsolete stuff that I can't think of any use for. Most of them
still work, or would with a little work.

What should I do with this junk? I don't expect it would be worth the
effort to sell the stuff considering the pennies I might get for them.
I believe I'd have to pay to have them taken away as trash, since
electronics are usually classified as hazardous material.

So, is paying to junk them the only way? Or is there another solution
I'm not thinking of? I'd really like to get rid of some dust collectors
and reclaim the storage space in my house.

Oh, and one of the computers is an "antique" Apple ][+. It still worked
when I last fired it up a few years ago. Maybe those are "collectible"?

Where do old computers go to die? Mexico.
(Old joke about where do old Chevies go.)

You might find a recycler; however, many work on a contract to accept a
huge load of oldies from a company that is upping their workstations to
new and better gear or from companies that have stockpiled the discards
and eventually run out of room and have to get a recycler to come it to
haul it away (they bring semi-trailers to load up). Could be hard to
find a recycler that'll take a small one-off load. Look for recyclers
in your area. If they sell to the public and will sell off pieces, they
might take your stuff. Too often they've got such a backload of company
dumped stuff that they don't want yours.

Computers are classed as hazardous waste because of the lead used in all
the soldering (and other bad elements). Check with your community
center on how to dispose of hazardous waste. The same place that takes
old CRTs probably takes old computers and other electronics. You might
have to pay a "processing fee". Taking the computer, electronics, CRTs
and TVs to your community recycle center might cost a little but do you
want to keep storing the stuff? When you dust your house or vacuum, the
dusters and vacuum bags will cost you.

You could advertise them on Craigslist (for free if you want them gone
fast) or eBay. There's often someone that wants the old stuff, like
they enjoy tinkering or setting up a personal museum of oldies. If they
have no value to you at all, give them away on Craigslist. Junk to you
might be treasure to someone else. You will get a lot of responses for
free stuff advertised at Craigslist. Just don't get too disappointed
when they don't show up when they said they would, if at all. There's a
lot of fishing with the free stuff. If you want only pennies for the
stuff, post in their garage sale section. Way too many sellers there
are way too attached to their stuff and way overprice it. Oh, don't
sell items at $1. That seems the default dollar value that sellers put
on their ad when they have multiple items to sell at varying prices.
You'll probably get filtered out by potential buyers that skip past all
the $1 ads. Selling at $5 increments eliminates you needing dollars for
a sale. Going low or free will make your items disappear fast.

Don't bother contacting schools. They've become very picky as to what
they will take and prefer arguing with the school board about the budget
for computers for students. You would have to find schools in very poor
districts that would take any old thing. If you live in such an area,
you should be able to find a school that wants their kids to have
something rather than nothing. If you don't live in such an area, are
you going to drive to one to drop off the stuff?

"Nil" wrote in message
...
I have 5 or 6 old computer carcasses in my basement. Most of them are
AT form factor cases and motherboards, Pentium CPUs, small IDE disk
drives. Obsolete stuff that I can't think of any use for. Most of them
still work, or would with a little work.

What should I do with this junk? I don't expect it would be worth the
effort to sell the stuff considering the pennies I might get for them.
I believe I'd have to pay to have them taken away as trash, since
electronics are usually classified as hazardous material.

So, is paying to junk them the only way? Or is there another solution
I'm not thinking of? I'd really like to get rid of some dust collectors
and reclaim the storage space in my house.

Oh, and one of the computers is an "antique" Apple ][+. It still worked
when I last fired it up a few years ago. Maybe those are "collectible"?

Check your local town, city, or county webpage for electronics recycling
days. Our county has them every 2-3 months, and there is no charge for
taking them. You have to take the stuff to them (they don't pick up), and
one of the guys will unload your vehicle for you and put it in the proper
bin. They'll take almost anything that plugs into an electrical outlet; TVs,
PCs, microwave ovens, etc. Don't know where the stuff goes from there, but
at least I don't have it filling up a closet anymore (I have one in the 3rd
bedroom that could have been on a map as Land of the Dead, LOL).
--
SC Tom

On 10 Sep 2015, "SC Tom" wrote in
alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:

Check your local town, city, or county webpage for electronics
recycling days. Our county has them every 2-3 months, and there is
no charge for taking them.

I'll look into that. My town has a free recycle day once a year where
they'll take various things that you can't normally leave out with the
trash pickup. Stuff like tires, oil, paint, etc. However a few things,
like electronics, you have to pay few dollars for. Last year I gave
them a perfectly good 36" CRT TV and I had to give them $20. I had
tried to sell it on Craigslist for 6 months with nary a nibble.

Funny story about that... the TV weighed over 100 lbs. I got a friend
to help take it to the recycle point (local high school parking lot)
and we struggled mightily to carry down two flights of stairs to his
van. When we got it to the school, I got out to help carry it over to
the truck, but before I had a chance, this young kid gives it a big
bear hug, hoists it onto his shoulder, and tosses it into the truck
like it was nothing. Embarrassing!

On 10 Sep 2015, VanguardLH wrote in
alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:

You could advertise them on Craigslist (for free if you want them
gone fast) or eBay.

I might try the Craigslist giveaway. I think there's another site
called Freecycle. I'm pretty sure nobody will buy this stuff.

Don't bother contacting schools. They've become very picky as to
what they will take and prefer arguing with the school board about
the budget for computers for students.

I suspect you're right, but I'll make the offer anyway.

I guess I need to take inventory and see what's in working condition or
not.

Nil wrote in news:XnsA510CF7D2F10Fnilch1
@wheedledeedle.moc:

What should I do with this junk? I don't expect it would be worth the
effort to sell the stuff considering the pennies I might get for them.
I believe I'd have to pay to have them taken away as trash, since
electronics are usually classified as hazardous material.


If you've got Goodwill nearby they take it all. All they do is check to
make sure you're local to them. In SoCal I got rid of a bunch of
computers, monitors, misc electronics through them.

--

Pat

email: phartzATcoxDOTnet