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Dell Launches Free PC Recycling 110

Posted by Zonk from the there-should-be-free-as-in-beer-recycling dept.
digihome writes to mention the implementation of a free PC recycling service for all systems sold by the company. From the article: "The no-charge home pickup program was announced in June. Dell already offers similar programs in Europe and Canada. After enduring tough criticism over the years from environmental groups, tech companies have started offering more ways for consumers to properly dispose of computer gadgets and to conserve electricity while using computer gear. Among tech companies, environmental advocacy group Greenpeace has singled out Dell and mobile-phone maker Nokia for their ecologically conscientious policies."
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Dell Launches Free PC Recycling More

Dell Launches Free PC Recycling

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  • Recycle... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by MeatFlap3 ( 741121 )
    It may be a better offer if you could include computers from any source, not just dell, right?

    -r

    • Re:Recycle... (Score:5, Funny)

      by ergo98 ( 9391 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @09:53PM (#16254969) Homepage Journal
      It may be a better offer if you could include computers from any source, not just dell, right?

      Good point. And while they're at it, I have an old futon that the cat pissed on that I've been looking to dump, so maybe they can take that too.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Timesprout ( 579035 )
      Why should Dell pay to recycle their competitors products?

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by k3vlar ( 979024 )
        If Dell recycles an old product from a competitor, then, theoretically, it's a space for them to fill with their own product.
        It's like those stupid car dealerships offering to make the last 3 payments on a competitor's lease, so they can get you into one of their cars faster.

    • Re: (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Wooloomooloo ( 902011 )
      It's up to the other PC manufactures to implement similar policies. Why should Dell worry about disposing other companies' equipment?

      • Re:Recycle... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by irc.goatse.cx troll ( 593289 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @10:09PM (#16255065) Journal
        Because its downright silly to have 3 big trucks drive by to pick up 2 computers and a printer in the name of "envrionmental cleanliness"?
        If anything the big names should all pitch in and form a collaborative group.
        • You're right in that they should form a group, but until that happens (if it happens) I don't think Dell's going to take their competitor's garbage. It does cost money, after all.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by fossa ( 212602 )

          My favorite is those billboard trucks driving around. I know it takes energy to put up a static billboard, but something about driving around burning gas and increasing traffic just to wave a sign sickens me.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Woldry ( 928749 )
            Getting off topic, of course, but:

            Actually, in a lot of places, companies turn to billboard trucks because the local zoning laws in some way prevent them from advertising their business. One community near me had a controversy recently: a store owner wanted a bigger sign than the (unusually restrictive) zoning laws there allowed, and so he bought a billboard truck and parked it (legally) on the street in front of his business. They wanted to pass an ordinance forbidding billboard trucks from the municipa
        • "Because its downright silly to have 3 big trucks drive by to pick up 2 computers and a printer in the name of "envrionmental cleanliness"?
          If anything the big names should all pitch in and form a collaborative group."

          Agreed. Before curbside recycling was common, there were places in my town where everyone took all the cans, bottles, and batteries for recycling. We still have something similar for oil, paint, and other nasty stuff. Why not do something similar for computers-just let everyone drop them off at

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Fred_A ( 10934 )

            Why not do something similar for computers-just let everyone drop them off at the mall or something. It would have to be less expensive than all the pickup/mail-in nonsense we have now.

            The purpose of the "pickup/mail-in nonsense" is to make it easier for people to turn their old stuff in instead of just toss it in the garbage (which whould be bad given the amount of crap in a random computer). People are lazy and don't care, so this is a way to try and deal with that problem.

            Let's just hope the "recyclin

        • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

          by saboola ( 655522 )
          What shall we call this collaborative group that deals with old crappy computers? Ah, I got it, e-machines.

    • Re:Recycle... (Score:5, Informative)

      by ben there... ( 946946 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @10:41PM (#16255235) Journal
      It may be a better offer if you could include computers from any source, not just dell, right?

      They will, as part of a new purchase. That was their old recycling program, and it's still in effect. The new program adds recycling of Dell products at any time.

      You have to have *something* to do with Dell before they'll ship your junk for free.
      • I've always meant to put up fliers around town: "Such and Such Budget PC Disposal" Hauling fees as low as $4.99! Just to see how many perfectly salvagable boxes I could get.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Scoth ( 879800 )
          A friend of mine did just that to try to get some workable computers for a youth center/after school program. Rather than solicit for old PCs, he put up signs offering to dispose of them cheap. He was pretty quickly overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of stuff. Part of his problem was he felt that since he advertised a removal service for-pay, he was obligated to take the stuff whether it was useful specifically to him or not. So, he pretty quickly ended up with roomsful of often-broken equipment all the way

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by solitas ( 916005 )
      One believes Dell defines "recycle" as "refurbish and resell".
    • It may be a better offer if you could include computers from any source, not just dell, right?

      My Wife's computer came with a Dell Printer. The printer came with a return pre-paid shipping label in the box so I could "recycle" my old printer. I set up the new printer, installed the cartridges and connected it. I found the cartridges were about 1/4 the size of the old printer but cost the same. I could not get cartridges at a local store so they had to be directly ordered from Dell + shipping and handeling
  • Yes Sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie... It was me that put that post-it note saying "Works fine, Free CRT" on the CRT someone else left on the curb there.

    So we'll sing it again [slashdot.org] the next time it comes 'round on the guitar.

    • And if 50 people, I say 50 people a day come in recyclin' monitors, they might think it's a movement!

      And most of them would be too young to know what a movement is...

  • Metal, after oil, is our least renewable resource. Given that computers use more metal than any other consumer product it makes economic sense (or is that cents!) to reclaim it.

    Another useful component is the rare-earth magnets that are in hard drives. Those are pricey and certainly outlast the drives they come in.

    • Wow, man, your mainframe has more metal than your SUV?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by chgros ( 690878 )
      Metal, after oil, is our least renewable resource
      It depends which metal you're talking about... Most elements are metals, and they're more or less abundant ("renewable")
    • Metal, after oil, is our least renewable resource.

      Metal, however, DOESN'T GO ANYWHERE. It can be lost to rust, but that's only a small percentage over a long period of time. 500 years from now, we can mine our junkyards, and get practically all of it back for future use.

      Oil, OTOH, is burned, and turned into a completely useless form, that won't turn back into oil for millions of years.
      • "500 years from now, we can mine our junkyards, and get practically all of it back for future use."

        Can we?

        Maybe they will have invented some amazing process which can sort out the rare but extremely useful metals like copper and tungsten which are probably going to be in extremely high demand but are likely to be distributed in extremely minute quantities all around the earth by our extremely naive civilisation.

        Most electronics these days end up in massive municipal landfills, trying to mine them would be l
        • Can we?

          Yes.
        • Go go gadget nanobots?

          Surely we must be able to eventually reach the stage where nanobots could 'disassemble and sort' landfill sites into individual elements for re-use. Maybe not today, maybe not in 20 years, but certainly before we run out of useful trace metals.
          • Sure and maybe they can be used to create flying cars, provide us with "meals in pill form", create artificial gravity in space, enable teleportation, and all the other dreams of the future. "Dreams" is the key word though, for there is currently no direct research (that I know of atleast) that explains how nanobots could do an extremely complex task like sorting out a landfill based on elemental composition. Its all nano-hype.
            • At one point being able to fly (even in a plane) was a dream. Recording the human voice was damn near witchcraft. The idea that millions of people could be put in touch across a worldwide network didn't even exist, because even getting a letter to the other end of the country took days.

              Flying cars - probably not, but could be used to improve efficiency by ensuring proper chemical composition of fuels etc. Meal in pill form - ain't gonna happen because the human body (currently) needs actual substance to fee
      • Recycling is all about conserving energy, not materials. By recycling an aluminum can, you're not saving a precious metal, you're saving the energy used to mine ore and seperate it via electrolysis [wikipedia.org].

        Elemental metals like aluminum exist all around us (even in our bodies), but are mined from concentrated deposits so that less material will need to be seperated from the desired metal by electrolysis, metling, etc. The energy conservation of recycling aluminum vs. harvesting ore and processing it is approxim
        • First of all, it's called *CONTEXT*... You should try checking it out some time. If you had, you'd notice my comment wasn't dismissing recycling, but dismissing the fool who said metal is a limited resource, like oil.

          By recycling an aluminum can, you're not saving a precious metal, you're saving the energy used to mine ore and seperate it via electrolysis.

          All of which I know.

          The energy expense required to seperate specific metals from trash makes garbage dump mining an unfeasible prospect.

          Only true if:

          You

          • I recognized you were talking about the difference between oil and metals. I apologize if my previous post sounded pedantic. I didn't mean to understimate your grasp on recycling concepts.

            You're assuming current technology won't advanced before we need to get that metal back.

            The deal is, as technology improves at sifting metal out of non-metal materials, mining companies will return to work mines that have 'petered out.' That is, places where these metals had been mined, but operations ceased when the

    • Re:This is fantastic news. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by NexFlamma ( 919608 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @11:56PM (#16255637) Homepage
      "Given that computers use more metal than any other consumer product"

      You literally pulled this out of your ass, didn't you?

      For a while now, we've had these things called "automobiles". They are generally made up of metals of various sorts. They also weigh 1-2 tons a piece. Unless you're referring to all those consumer grade ENIACs you see everywhere, I'm not sure how you think computers consume the most metal of any consumer product.
      • >> computers use more metal than any other consumer product
        > For a while now, we've had these things called "automobiles".

        The only consumer product to contain more metal than computer is automobiles. And washing machines. TWO. There are TWO consumer products that contain more metal than computers ...
        • Dryers. Dishwashers. Microwave ovens. Kitchen sinks that aren't porcelain or plastic. Refrigerators....

          However the difference between these devices and a computer is the types of metal. If we ever get in a scramble for gold, titanium, tantalum, etc. - a store of computers in a concentrated area might be the most cost effective way to get them. Not yet though. Check out an issue of FastCompany about 3 months ago, there is a company trying to streamline the process of harvesting tech landfills for various s
    • They got more metal than your puny peta
      flops...

      Nah, I got nothin'. I can't get a good rhyme for metal.

      At least I tried.
    • I would like to know what kind of computer you own that has more metal than an automobile? I mean, do you have a bunch of mainframes in your basement or something?

  • For non-Dells (Score:4, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 29, 2006 @09:56PM (#16254987)
    For those who don't own a Dell, there is Free Geek [freegeek.org]

    • Re: (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      In addition to Portland, Free Geek also has locations in Indiana [freegeekmichiana.org], Pennsylvania [freegeekpenn.org], Washington [freegeekolympia.org], Ohio [freegeekcolumbus.org], and Illinois [freegeekchicago.org]

  • Does it need to be said? (Score:5, Informative)

    by voice_of_all_reason ( 926702 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @09:56PM (#16254993)
    Remove hard drive first, nuke it yourself. Only way to be sure.
    • Secure erase firmware is built into all new drives:
      http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/Hughes/SecureErase.html [ucsd.edu]

      This is suitable for military sanitize up to secret level.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by stefanlasiewski ( 63134 )
      The only truly secure computer is one which is switched off and disconnected from the network. ... and smashed with a sledgehammer, to ensure that the computer is never turned on again. ... and set on fire, to the temperature of 600F, which should be sufficient to destroy the magnetic bits in the hard drive. ... and then nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by 4D6963 ( 933028 )

      Remove hard drive first, nuke it yourself. Only way to be sure.

      Only way to make sure that nobody could recover your porn or find out that your mail account's password is "password" even by opening your hard drive and looking for data with a gauss-meter or something of this kind?

      Unless you got state secrets on your hard drive and that somebody out there might know it, writing a bunch of 0's once on your hard drive will keep anything you could have on your hard drive safe.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by nido ( 102070 )
      Remove hard drive first, nuke it yourself. Only way to be sure.

      How would I go about obtaining a nuke? Should I start collecting smoke detectors?

      I've got a bunch of old hard drives that need the data wiped. Wouldn't it just be simpler to hold it up to a rare-earth magnet [forcefieldmagnets.com]? Would I have to take the cover off?

      Just wondering... :)

  • Recyling PC's (Score:2, Interesting)

    by PoconoPCDoctor ( 912001 )
    Great idea. On my way to work in Manhattan, I frequently see PC monitors, CPU's, laser printers, etc, on the curb awaiting pickup. AFAIK, NYC does not have a recyling program for these items. They just get added to a landfill in other states. Any program that recycles all the toxic materials found in PC's and related equipment will potentially save the water supply in areas from leachate contamination, as water percolates through landfills. Way to go, Dell! HP better step up the plate!

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by setirw ( 854029 )
      Sure it has a recycling program: I take them!

      I once found a dual PIII Xeon server on the street, with 4gb RAM and 8 10,000 RPM 12gb SCSI drives (wiped, of course). Three 22" ViewSonic flat screen CRTs. A working professional-quality scanner. It is positively ludicrous what New Yorkers throw out.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by evilviper ( 135110 )
        It is positively ludicrous what New Yorkers throw out.

        "Yes officer, that computer was out on the street, just behind that shattered glass window..."

      • Amen Brother! I sometimes wish I had my car with me as I walk past HP laser printers. Sure, probably some can't be repaired, but I know some people who chuck them when they get a message "Replace Drum Kit."

        "Me - you are so right. This HP laser printer is a goner. I'll just "recycle it" for you!"

      • "I once found a dual PIII Xeon server on the street, with 4gb RAM and 8 10,000 RPM 12gb SCSI drives (wiped, of course). Three 22" ViewSonic flat screen CRTs. A working professional-quality scanner"

        I got hit by a damn taxi waiting for my brother to come by with his truck.

    • Re:Recyling PC's (Score:5, Informative)

      by truthsearch ( 249536 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @10:21PM (#16255121) Homepage Journal
      All City agencies, as well as businesses and institutions, are required to recycle computer equipment, unless it is donated or resold for reuse.

      The NYC Department of Sanitation has coordinated with private companies and nonprofit organizations to offer electronics recycling events to New York City residents.

      http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/recyclin g/electronicsrecycling.shtml [nyc.gov]
      • The link you provided does not seem to mention that the rectcling "events" occur every trash pickup day. While the City sponsored events are laudable, many people or landlords still don't know you can't just put an old PC, monitor, on the street for disposal.
    • Finally here in Ireland we are starting to do something other than dump everything. We've implemented the EU WEEE directive, so now there is a charge for every item sold to cover its recycling or waste handling. Also there are now decent modern recycle depots being run by the local councils, where in some places, you can bring just about anything. The city I'm in doesn't have an all-encompassing one though - so the council pay a scrap merchant instead for them to administer it (they have a big free yard). I
  • The is room for improvement I think, but on the bright side I really like the aspect that you don't have to purchase a new Dell to get the service.

    That allows people to move away from their Dell product without penalizing the environment for it. Now, it would be great if they offered to pick up non-Dell computers too when you make a purhase and want to get rid of the old stuff. Hopefully more companies will take initiative in this.

    Justin
    http://hatchedeggs.blogspot.com/ [blogspot.com]

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Dell DOES pick up non-dell computers when you purchase a dell... just check the option for "free recycling kit" when you purchase your new dell and you will get a airborne tag to use your dell box to ship your old PC back in... :)

      It is free on most home systems and $10 up to $40 option with some business systems.

      I just used my $40 tag from a server to pack 2 computers, a 14" crt and a ton of old ISA cards all in the Poweredge box.

    • Re: (Score:2, Redundant)

      by ben there... ( 946946 )
      Now, it would be great if they offered to pick up non-Dell computers too when you make a purhase and want to get rid of the old stuff.

      They do. It's part of the old program that has been around a few years. You can still do that. This just adds free recycling of Dell computers with no purchase necessary.
      • And.. how exactly would you find yourself needing to recycle a Dell computer without someone having purchased something from Dell?

  • I'd take them too... (Score:4, Funny)

    by NotQuiteReal ( 608241 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @10:03PM (#16255033) Journal
    You can put almost anything on eBay and turn a profit - if you charge enough in S&H...

    "Computer for sale: PII 500MHz - doesn't boot. Buy it Now $25!"

    Tell me you can't sell that.

    • Where, where? (Score:5, Funny)

      by HermanAB ( 661181 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @10:14PM (#16255079)
      Oooooh, gotta have that. No link to your auction!?
    • Laugh all you want. You think this is outrageous? I've been getting what others would declare as "crap" PCs for a long time. 500, maybe 600 MHz celerons, some with memory, some without, none with hard drives. An old employer would just leave them out for anytone to take, rather than pay to have someone haul it all out. I must have sold over 50 of them over the span of a year, giving them a slight refurbish to the point where they are stable, throw Linux on a measly 4 or 6 GB drive that I bought in lots
      • Oh, you have no idea how many pc's end up in my possession because they're "broken" and "maybe you could use the parts?". Or...I could just replace the flimsy power supply for 25 Euros and have a fully functional Celeron 1500 with 256MB Ram and a 40 Gig harddrive. Now all I need is one of them switchboards where you can run 4 pc's off of one monitor and keyboard...

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Neoncow ( 802085 )
          You mean KVMs [newegg.com] right?

          They're actually really cheap these days and a great way to flaunt your geek status.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by 4D6963 ( 933028 )

      Tell me you can't sell that.

      Actually you could sell the PSU alone for that price. I once sold a dead 400W ATX PSU for 20

  • Is it just lip-service? (Score:5, Informative)

    by STDOUBT ( 913577 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @10:44PM (#16255249)
    Seriously.

    *Most* "recycled" electronics in the US end up in trash heaps in China to be picked through by poor people. Gleaned for valuable metals. In these open-air dumps there are no controls on leaching metals into the soil, etc.

    There are plenty of more responsible efforts throughout the country some of which are listed here:
    http://freegeek.org/recycle.php [freegeek.org]

    Does Dell *really* recycle or just dump the stuff someplace that pays them by the ton? And don't be mislead by Greenpeaces' approval. They score based on production toxicity not recycling cleanliness. Granted Dell's doing "something", but my point is we don't actually know where the boxes end up. TFA didn't say.

  • Funny, I recycle all my old computers. If nobody else will take them, the public schools will, and give me a reciept for a tax writeoff while I am at it.
    • many or most schools and nonproftis these days have minimum requirements of what they will take as a donation.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mlc ( 16290 )
        or at least they ought to... those of us who work for nonprofits can tell stories of the total junk that people donate apparently thinking they're being helpful.
        • True, but the first rule is that it works (and all the stuff I donate does) and ask before you donate it. Heck, the last one that went to a school was a 33 mhz 486 over 6 years ago.

          The one I donated this year was a 120 mhz laptop that went to a relative that is using it at college.

          It all comes down to finding the right home for each machine.
  • This is great, but the article doesn't say what the user can recycle. PCs, sure, but what about monitors or laptops?

    In California, we pay an extra $8 when we purchase a monitor (or laptop) to the state for future landfill services. Then when we dump a CRT monitor it's a $20 fee (not sure about laptops or desktops).
  • Your average computer has enough gold and silver in it for a recycler to churn a rather high profit melting them down.

    I remember seeing shows on it in the late 90's.. the average high end CE device (e.g. computer) can be melted down to produce several grams of gold and several oz of silver.

    This of course ignores the huge amount of silicon, plastics, and of course aluminum (aluminum is far cheaper to recycle than to smelt as the only known process involves VAST amounts of electricity) which makes up the rest
    • yes, this show you watched back in the late 90's, back then it was probably much easier to make a profit in electronics recycling.

      back then pentium 1 and pre-pentium 1 boards and cpus had a much higher gold content, but afterwards manufacturers cut back drastically on their use of valuable metals to cut costs.

      these days, when most of what a recycler gets is p2 and p3-era machines, and busted monitors (not worth much of anything), they are not as valuable component-wise.

      so no, most recyclers do not "churn a
  • Heres the life cycle of a PC in my household
    Buy the PC from Gateway and get the latest and greatest
    This Machine is the primary PC for me for the next 18 months.
    After that it becomes the secondary PC. It is moved to the guest room.
    After a year and a half there it is moved to the garage where it runs MAME in my arcade cabinent.

    After a while in the garage it is given to my daughter or my mother where they use it for another two years as their primary PC. After that it goes on the trading post and is sold to

  • if near silicon valley, please consider.. (Score:4, Informative)

    by reflector ( 62643 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @11:40PM (#16255543)
    if you are in the silicon valley area, please consider ELMARS.ORG, we offer free electronics recycling (drop off at our Fremont warehouse just off I-880), and also offer free pick-up at your location for medium to large quantities.

    we are a non-profit california state-certified e-waste collector (one of the few that are state certified), and will give you a 501 c(3) tax-deductible receipt for all electronics that you give us, as well.
    help the environment and help your pocketbook, too :)

    see us at www.elmars.org for more info.

    thanks!

    • Couple of questions:

      1) Do you simply recondition the equipment and donate it to others, or do you physically break down non-working equipment in an environmentally friendly manner?
      2) Is all demanufacturing done locally? Or is some/all of it sent overseas?

      Please take these as just curious questions, and in no way a negative light.

      -b

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by reflector ( 62643 )
        hi, thanks for the interest.

        working hardware or hardware that we can fix up easily (put a new hard drive in, etc) gets either donated or sold to fund our existing operations.

        non-working and obsolete stuff gets seperated into components (plastics, steel (cases), circuit boards, wires, etc).

        we work with local refineries that will melt down boards and metals, everything is done locally, not overseas.

  • From the comments written so far I thought an exposition of the swiss system may be interesting.
    For a few years now, whenever you buy a piece of electronics you have to pay a mandatory recycling tax, which the store gives back to a government managed recycling fund. The amount depends on the type of equipment.
    Next, every electronics store is required by law to accept any piece of equipment for recycling. You can basically bring your old gear to any store for recycling for free, whether you bought it the
  • Some of this recyling program is already in place:

    http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/09/computer_r ecycl.php [treehugger.com]

    I've helped to puchase several Dells in the last few years. They have always offered to recycle my old computer for free, regardless of the brand.

    They send a shipping label along with the new computer, and you ship it back to them in the same delivery box. Easy as pie, and I'm assuming they have facilities to deal with the extra styrofoam.

    This is in California, so perhaps we had this system in place

  • Also offering free laptop incineration... (Score:3, Funny)

    by ortcutt ( 711694 ) on Saturday September 30, 2006 @12:53AM (#16255855)
    in partnership with Sony. That's really the solution for E-waste, computers which self-destruct.

  • Greens on target, yet again... (Score:4, Informative)

    by scdeimos ( 632778 ) on Saturday September 30, 2006 @01:47AM (#16256101)
    After enduring tough criticism over the years from environmental groups, tech companies have started offering more ways for consumers to properly dispose of computer gadgets and to conserve electricity while using computer gear.
    Good grief, you'd think they'd go after TV and monitor manufacturers, too. A lot of CRT-based TV's and monitors have a "standby" mode that draws almost as much power as full-on. These things are on all the time, whereas a lot of computers are only on when in-use. I expect a lot more people have TV's than computers, too.
    • I expect a lot more people have TV's than computers, too

      There are a lot of people with one tv and lots of computers. We have a 20 inch tv and a 12 inch TV/VCR combo unit for travel. My wife and I have both a laptop and desktop. I have 2 PC's set up for the kids.

      Let's face it. The stuff on most TV has degenerated to the lowest common denominator of sex, violence, and commercials. When we moved last year, I didn't even bother to put up an antenna. TV is for videos. Due to advances in technology, Comput

  • I saw mentions of Freegeek so I thought I'd mention Freecycle too. If you don't own a Dell computer (or even if you do) you might want to consider it. I've never participated, but my mother is absolutely fanatical about it. She's given and picked up tons of stuff from participants.

    The Freecycle Network [freecycle.org]
    • Freecycle is awesome, not only does it appeal to my pack-rat mentality but i'm also helping keep stuff out of landfill.
  • Im using a 13 year old monitor right now.

    What do some people do throw em out when they get dirty ?
  • "The no-charge home pickup program was announced in June. Dell already offers similar programs in Europe and Canada."

    The kind "offer" of Dell's is actually required by law in Europe, and has been since August 2005. The WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) legislation came into effect prior to RoHS. One part of this Directive is that any product containing any of six banned substances (lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphen
  • Just set your old pc out there by the street, and it magically goes away.
  • Destroy the old computers, and it's a lot more likely people will buy new ones instead of using an old one if they can.

    This is marketing doublespeak. What they are doing is removing the reused-computer, the used market.

    They grind the machine, recycle only the plastic and copper. As an LTSP or Citrix terminal or older word-processing box, it could be used for a long time - 100% recycled.

    I live in Brazil nowadays, and people _still_ pay US$200 for a used pentium 3 in used-pc stores - monitor not included.
    • Hi everyone - I work on environment issues at Dell - with apologies for weighing in late to this discussion thought I would respond to a few things raised in the comments here. First - some quick clarification on Dell's recycling programs. We will recycle and brand of used computer or printer with the purchase of a new Dell computer or printer for no-charge -- we've had that in place in the US since 2004 and it includes home pick-up. We will also now recycle any Dell-branded used equipment for no charge
  • Double apologies from me - one, I just realized I commented on a comment and should have put this in the main thread, and two, I'm late to weigh in. For full disclosure - I work on environment issues at Dell. There were lots of good thoughts raised in different comment threads and I thought I'd respond to all at once: 1. We're providing both recycling for used Dell-branded equipment for no charge (no purchase necessary) AND recycling of any brand of used computer with the purchase of a new Dell. 2. W

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