Flutterby™! : Computer Disposal 2002-02-26 22:31:29+00

Computer Disposal

2002-02-26 22:31:29+00 by Dan Lyke 8 comments

I'm finally down to a few computers that work. While I could throw the remainder of my computer stuff, old hard drives, lots of old cards, in the trash, I believe that if I interpret the garbage rules strictly that's illegal. Lots of lead and other stuff that landfill operators would like to not deal with. Anyone know how to safely and legally dispose of this stuff?

To what garbage rules are you referring? I just throw my stuff in the nearest roundfile.

Check the yellow pages. You might find your answer under "electroncs recycling".

Shawn, in most places the fine print on garbage service contracts prohibits throwing things like flourescent bulbs, batteries, or waste with noticeable amounts of various heavy metals in landfill bound garbage. While it's probaby nitpicking to adhere to all these rules, monitors and TVs definitely qualify, and large stashes of printed circuit boards probably qualify as hazardous waste.

Larry, haven't seen the answer under "electronics recycling", I think the hazmat department at our waste recovery center will take 'em, but higher up in the disposal chain I can toss these things, the better chance of actually being usefully recovered they have.

Dan, have you considered something like this? They appear to have several regularly-open recycling places, and are having an "event" in SF on Thursday this week. They appear to take non-working machines, but may charge some small fees ($5 per machine) for computers stripped of parts, or for old CRTs.

I had a big stash of computer gear to get rid of last year. I collected it into a big pile in the living room and had the Real Change folks come by and cart off everything they were interested in. They use some of the machines for their layout work and others they refurbish and sell cheap. This took care of the monitors and about half the rest of the gear. Then I tore all the circuit boards out of whatever was left and tossed the cases, power supplies, and random metal bits into the dumpster.

Now I have a big bag full of circuit boards in the closet. My plan is to cut them into carefully-measured pieces and rivet them to a plain black corset. Add some EL-wire and a carefully placed battery pack, and Kelly will have an eye-catching piece of club wear.

Typically, your garbage service can handle pretty much anything you want to dispose of if you contact them. They might charge you a nominal fee to do so.