Computer
recycling versus donating
The question is should we recycle or should we
donate when we have no need for our old computers. Both options have a much
better outcome than simply throwing away a computer. Our computers have various
toxics within them which could lead to multiple health risks for the public at
large. Recycling and/or donating a computer can lead to many positive and
beneficial outcomes for our society. For instance donating a computer can lead
to a student and/or their family having a computer for the first time at home.
On the other hand recycling could benefit us all with the array of useable
energy that can be created from recycling.
As for
myself I can attend the annual recycling event in a town that is approximately five
minutes from my home. I can take various items that would be harmful to our
communities if disposed of in an improper way. The event is held in
Westchester, Illinois which is one town over from where I live. Naperville,
Illinois is another town that have helpful resources to encourage recycling.
Both of these communities have extensive websites that educate the communities
about the available assistance to recycle items such as computers. See link
below.
Other resources provided by the town of
Westchester,IL http://www.westchester-il.org/DocumentCenter/View/3414
I see that my Professor primary employer is an
active partner with recycling and reusing.
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
(MWRD)https://www.mwrd.org/irj/portal/anonymous/Home
Some might be more inclined to donate to charities
and not for profit organizations. I found a few companies that do accept
computer donations and will actually wipe and/or destroy the hard drive for the
donor’s safety. They do ask for a monetary donation also to help cover certain
cost that incur when refurbishing a computer. FreeGeek is one of the
organizations who provide these services. Their name is just a little
misleading because some of their services come with a requested price. Although
not expensive it is still a undertone fee.
To protect yourself if you decide
to donate it would be wise to utilize one of the various disk cleaning software
if you do it yourself.
The best way to protect against any unauthorized use of
personal information is to use a disk-cleaning tool that obliterates all data
on the hard drive. Examples below are recommended disk-cleaning utilities.
Commercial
Windows Disk-Cleaning Software:
Free Windows Disk-Cleaning
Software:
·
DBAN
Macintosh
Disk-Cleaning Software:
·
Disk Utility (it comes with Mac OS X and can be found in the
Utilities folder)
Donating also assist with the digital divide for
those who are in poverty stricken communities. The more people who have access
to computers, and the internet the more collaboration opportunities for our
society. According to the latest
statistics of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Approximately 40 percent of computers
and other consumer electronic devices are being recycled in the United States..
My final assessment is that whether you donate or
recycle you are doing a great service to our communities by being resourceful. Being
educated and informed about simplistic disposing procedures can not only save
our environment but it might just save some lives.
Great report, information, and links to resources! As you reported, DBAN is a commonly used data destruction software application in use at many companies when wiping PCs for redistribution, or when salvaging. While this and other products work well, they were mostly designed when hard drives "Spinning Disks" reigned supreme. Once solid-state drives entered the marketplace, they rendered a number of these products non-functional, since they rely on the disk platter/sector format when wiping data. Solid state disks use a difference method to store/retrieve data. Therefore, a number of these products (including DBAN) are still only effective on spinning disks (hard drive). However, since "traditional" hard drives still reign in the majority of the market, they will still be useful for some time.
ReplyDeleteYes, my agency is supportive and active in recycling. However, we currently do not accept computer/electronic hardware. Our recycling initiatives are aimed towards keeping "bad" things (unused prescription medications, household hazardous waste, etc.) out of the sewer/waterway systems via sink/toilet disposal. Great job!