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Date: Friday, 8 April 2005

Title: Think twice before you dump that old computer

Source: http://www.greeleytribune.com/

Remarks: None

Personal computers have made the lives of millions of Americans more efficient, fun and exciting. But as technology speeds up, computers become obsolete more rapidly and leave their owners wondering what to do with them. Since safely disposing of them can prove to be time-consuming and costly, many take the easy way, trash them and they end up in landfills despite the hazardous risk. "It's like giving our children something to deal with in the future," said Anita Comer, owner of Waste-Not Recycling. "It's better that we are responsible now than having to deal with cleanups in the future." The law forbids businesses but not individuals from dumping computers in landfills. The Environmental Protection Agency warns that the heavy metals found in computers -- lead, cadmium, silver and batteries with mercury -- can prove hazardous for the environment. A precious few environmentally safe options exist for computer owners in Weld County. "It is hard for us because we want people to do the environmentally appropriate thing, but there are not a lot of options our there and that makes it difficult," said Gabrielle Vergara, health education specialist with the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment. "We are kind of caught." In Weld, computer owners may donate functioning computers to a computer recycling program in Evans run by Hispanics United of Greater Colorado; volunteers refurbish the computers and get them to needy children. Or they can donate them to Advanced Technology in Greeley, where the computers are used in its community training center. Both programs "scrub" the computers by formatting them multiple times and erasing personal information left on the hard drive. Some owners remove the hard drive and destroy it themselves. Residents may dump obsolete computers for free at the city of Greeley spring cleanup or drive a few miles west to Kelim, where Waste-Not Recycling will safely disassemble a computer and monitor for $10. The city of Greeley offers the free dump-off at the fall and spring city cleanups to help keep computers out of the landfills, said Jerry Pickett, street superintendent. In 2004, the city collected 20,996 pounds of computers and paid $4,294 to Waste-Not Recycling to disassemble them. The city initiated the program in 2003 and plans to continue as the demand increases. "If we can get 21,000 pounds of computers out of the landfill, that benefits us all," Pickett said. What to do with old and obsolete computers is a growing problem across the country. The EPA says the functional life span of a new computer rests between three and five years. "They are out there by the ton, and there are very few reuse programs," said Dave Helmer, Weld County Partners business manager. "And certainly not in this community." Helmer's organization ran a computer recycling program until last year, but closed it because of financial constraints and lack of volunteer support. When the Weld County Partners' program shut its doors it left the Hispanics United in Greater Colorado computer recycling program in Evans as the last remaining program in the community, said Jon Bach. The program originally focused on Latino children but has since branched out to all needy children, Bach said. Last year, it gave 130 computers to children and recycled about 35 tons of computer material, which helped cover 30 percent of its operating expenses. Waste-Not Recycling salvages the raw materials -- plastics, metals and boards -- and ships them to various locations in the country. Comer said it's not lucrative but generates just enough profit to maintain the 40-employee business and help keep the environment clean. "I think we all have to be responsible for what we choose to have in our life," Comer said. "Computers are a great assets. They make it easier, give us Internet, but it's just part of being a responsible citizen to factor in that at the end of the life of the computer you have to be responsible for it."