Sometimes there are small computer/appliance repair shops that will either take them for parts or charge a fee (like $10 if I remember) to recycle them. A while back I saw something about one of the major manufacturers like Dell setting up a program to collect old computer stuff at one of the office supply stores...perhaps it was Staples or OfficeMax. I think there was no charge for just a few items.

I usually just store things until I have enough to make it worthwhile to take it to the annual collection. Unfortunately, in our area all the communities decide to have their recycling events on the same weekend for Earth Day and none of them will take everything. One town does electronics, another does hazardous waste and paint, others do books, clothes, scrap wood/metal, bikes. Driving all over the place to recycle things makes it a little less environmentally friendly, so we wait until we have a lot to take in.

we are all on the let's "recycle" bandwagon, but lately i've been thinking (dangerous i know chuckle), is this the right road to follow??

if we are to make all this sort of stuff and don't forget tv sets, dvd/vid' players, micro-waves etc.,. etc.,. then recycling may save a lot of landfill space but what is the cost to the environment to actually recycle these sorts of products?? is recycling a polymer or lead or silver whatever a lesser damaging process than making the stuff in the first place?? and they can't re-use/re-cycle every part of the component well not at the same point that is.

might be we may have to go back to simpler times and make things that can be repaired??

like in the good old days most things came in bottles that could be sent back the manufacturer of the product for cleaning and re-using (milk, soft-drinks etc.,.), then the manufacturers came up with the throw away plastic bottle ok heaps of extra profit for the companies but not so good for the environment, as they all use different polymers some of which can be recycled some of which can't/don't.

to me i can't see that recycling computer/entertainment components as being an easy task apart from collection and amalgamation to the recycle point, there is a lot of energy used.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: len's garden page

I very much agree with you that the emphasis should be on repair. Un-repairable items are the norm now, and not the exception. Certain things about high tech I can understand must be replaced often or go obsolete, but even things like pin configurations aren't standard for the same accessories.

What I am getting at, is that I my primary concern isn't how to recycle a computer monitor but that it may contain materials considered hazardous waste. That, no matter whether it's economically feasible or not I do not want to place in a landfill.

I was on target with my concerns. Not only do they contain lead, and other toxic materials, it's actually illegal to dispose of them in your rubbish in some states because of environmental concerns. They are TOXIC WASTE. I accessed one state waste site and this is what they state should be taken in for reclamation by demanufacturing:

* Computers
* Monitors
* Televisions (Very large television may be charged additional fees)
* Printers
* Scanners
* Audio Equipment (receivers, radios, turntables, tape recorders, DVD players, amplifiers, etc.)
* Fax Machines
* Microfiche Machines
* Copiers (copiers bigger than table top sized will be charge additional fees to be accepted)
* Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS)

Other Items Accepted (Recycling fee may be accessed based on quantity):

* Speakers
* Telephones
* Cell Phones
* Keyboards
* Wire
* Hard Drives
* Removable Floppy or Hard Drives
* Docking Stations
* Circuit Boards

Technology is the one area where there really is no good "green" solution. By its very definition technology is always changing and getting better and cheaper. Things could be repaired but it is usually not worth the effort. These things are not designed to last. How many people would want to use a 20 or even 10 year old computer just because it still works? I remember computers in the 80s being so slow that I had to keep a magazine handy to read while waiting for the next level of a game to load :) I don't want to go back to that. With computers, the best compromise is to keep them modular and easy enough for people to replace individual components while recycling what we can.

What irks me more is when non-technological things aren't repairable or designed to last. Furniture should be made to last generations and made out of materials that can be repaired or refinished. Small appliances and simple tools should be made to last too. We have a 25 year old Kitchenaid stand mixer that still works great with regular use. If it ever broke it is easy to take apart and get parts for. More things should be like that. We also had a Kitchenaid hand mixer, but it stopped working a year after buying it and was impossible to take apart without breaking it. So I guess brands don't mean much.

calliope, every so often I see an article in the paper about charitable groups that take old electronics and computers, and they fix and reburbish them. They then distribute them, whether to low-income families, or programs which use them to teach job-training skills,etc. Actually, I think that for some of the groups that collect them, the actual refurbishing IS job-training, and then they distribute them for further use.

Perhaps you can find an organization like this in your area? Maybe ask at the local library or newspaper, or perhaps a church or temple in the area.

I agree with two main points raised here - one, that having a hazardous waste collection once a year is nowhere near enough! Most people won't save stuff for a year to get rid of it - they will just throw it away. And the lines are just crazy on that one day. I think some towns don't allow non-residents to participate, because they have too many people showing up.

Secondly, I also bemoan the fact that we have become a throw-away society. Not only our soda bottles and paper/plastic plates and cups, but electronics, appliances, shoes, etc. No one under the age of 40 knows what a shoemaker is, lol!

Just the other day in the comics, I saw the Blondie strip. Dagwood's son told him some electronic thing (TV, maybe?) was broken, so Dagwood said he would call the repairman. His son asked him, "Do you remember what century we are living in?" "Oh yeah," says Dagwood, "Throw it away. We'll get a new one".

That pretty much says it all, sadly.

:)
Dee

My iron went bad, or the cord did. No problem, I know how to replace it, except the new "imported" small appliances are not made to be repaired. Remember how the plugs used to be made, you just removed the small piece between the tines (or whatever they are called) Want to bet ? I cut the end off, went to the hardware and spliced it .... using elec.connectors and tape. Cripes, wonder how many irons etal are laying in our landfills ?

Consumer nation :(

Irons.....talk about a dinosaur!

I got an old wooden ironing board with green steel frame if you are interested.