Recycling Electronics Equipment for a Greener Future

Rather than recycling computer parts and consumer electronics, many people believe that it is far better to reuse them. Recycling is, in itself, a pretty messy business anyway, and far more potential and (gulp) money can be made from reusing old computer equipment.

Some of the key possible reuses are:

• New use : a printer as robotic control, C64 as an advertising box, etc.
• Artwork : circuit boards make interesting art, including furntiture accents;
• Artistic Installations : with moving parts - use your imagination!
• For parts : bits that can be re-used as-is - transistors, resisitors, capacitors and miles and miles of cabling...
• etc.

For those bits and pieces that are still quite usuable, they can be deployed in schools (for education), or even sold on to less fortunate families for whom an internet access device would be the perfect addition...

Money is not a moot point, or a dirty word in recycling.

It would be great to be altruistic about it, but it's also worth pointing out that making a business out of retasking computer equipment does not necessarily imply making money from those less fortunate than ourselves.

It is all about providing goods and/or services at the right price point for the value they deliver.

In other words, income from such a business might come from government incentives for recycling of computer equipment, including carbon offset certificates, as well as low-priced rental agreements for internet access devices.

On the one hand, money can be made from helping the environment, and on the other from giving people access to the internet, using an old PC, and charging them a modest fee that reflects the value that they receive.

If the whole thing is run as a charity (i.e. not for profit) then the one could feasibly offset the other. Everybody wins.

This is surely better than simply throwing your old PC away.