Computer equipment recycling (within the USA)

Have you used a computer equipment recycler?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No, and I can't imagine I will for the forseeable future

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No, but I might if there were somewhere local to take stuff

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No, but I might try one of these online options

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0

i

Wannabe Storage Freak
Joined
Feb 10, 2002
Messages
1,080
For all 3 options listed below, be aware that each provider offers additional detailed information on their website about what is and is not accepted for recycling, along with instructions about how your equipment should be packaged and labelled. You should read that information (and check for any mistakes below) before making a decision about which option to choose, and what you are going to send. Current as of Feb 28th, 2005, the details I have provided here may change over time.

=======================================
IBM

Order via the web: IBM PC Recycle / Recycling Service
Order by phone: 1-800-SHOP-IBM
Part number: 06P7513 (you will need this for phone orders)
Price: $30 (for one box)
Maximum box size: 26" x 26" x 26"
Maximum weight per box: 69 pounds
Shipping handled by: UPS
Do they send you packaging? No
Do they arrange pick-up? No, you must take it to a UPS authorized drop-off location


Additional information:

1) Information about IBM's product recycling program is available here.

2) I called to confirm that they do indeed accept computer parts. In other words, as long as you adhere to the other guidelines on their website, a complete computer is not required. They will accept a box with only motherboards, power supplies, hard disks, etc.

=======================================
Hewlett-Packard / HP

Order via the web: Hardware recycling services
Order by phone: No option apparent
Part number: Couldn't find one
Price: $14 and up (cost determined by the type and quantity of equipment you are sending)
Maximum box size: 24" x 24" x 24"
Maximum weight per box: 150 pounds
Shipping handled by: They don't say
Do they send you packaging? No
Do they arrange pick-up? Yes


Additional information:

1) It does not appear that HP will accept computer parts (e.g. motherboards, hard disks, etc.) that are not part of an intact computer.

2) In a nutshell, HP's service appears to be aimed two types of people: a) Susy Q. Public who wants to conscientiously get rid of the intact, pastel-colored computer she's had in her bedroom for years, and b) business users who have HP and Compaq equipment in their server rooms that they'd like to get rid of in an environmentally responsible fashion.

3) Until the end of April 2005, HP appears to be offering some rebates on HP products purchased on the web, if you send back material through their recycling program. Details are available here.

=======================================
Dell

Order via the web: Dell Recycling
Order by phone: No option apparent
Part number: Depends on what you will be sending (see website for specific numbers)
Price: $15 (for one box)
Maximum box size: No size limit I could find
Maximum weight per box: 50 pounds (exception for monitors - up to 100 pounds)
Shipping handled by: DHL / Airborne Express (they merged)
Do they send you packaging? No
Do they arrange pick-up? Yes


Additional information:

1) At the time of this writing, they are having a sale on their recycling. (How do you have a sale on the costs for getting stuff back?) Prices are currently at $5.00 per box.

2) If you try to phone for more information ... good luck. The staff I reached (and I think I was bounced back and forth between half of all the staff that Dell employs) had no clue about their recycling service.

3) It does not appear, based on what little information I could extract from Dell employees and their website, that they will accept just computer parts. They will only accept complete computers (or peripherals). But no one - including Dell employees - may ever be completely sure of that.
 

i

Wannabe Storage Freak
Joined
Feb 10, 2002
Messages
1,080
Some additional, personal thoughts:

For my needs, IBM won. They easily beat out HP and Dell based on the comprehensive nature of the information on their website, and the general user-friendliness of their program. The fact that I could speak to a real person, and that - despite having to put me on hold twice to go and find additional information (they get another bonus for actually being willing to do that) - I received an actual answer to my question was a nice touch.

HP comes second, as they at least provide a decent level of detail about what their service covers on their website. They provide absolutely no phone support whatsoever that I could find though, which is a minus.

And then there's Dell. Poor Dell.


I'll be recycling my 19" ViewSonic PS790 via IBM's service.

I'm contemplating sending my crippled LaserJet 4 back to HP. But the fact that with IBM's service I can drop stuff off on my own schedule at a UPS location has me considering them again there too.

I'll also be sending a smaller box with a variety of computer components to IBM for recycling.
 

sechs

Storage? I am Storage!
Joined
Feb 1, 2003
Messages
4,709
Location
Left Coast
You need an option, "No, but I would if I needed to."

I've never needed to dispose of computer equipment. It gets reused, sold, or given away.
 

i

Wannabe Storage Freak
Joined
Feb 10, 2002
Messages
1,080
sechs said:
I've never needed to dispose of computer equipment. It gets reused, sold, or given away.

Wow. So you've never experienced hardware failure?

Would you like my fried, 60 pound, lead-laced, 19-inch monitor?
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
Joined
Jan 17, 2002
Messages
22,228
Location
I am omnipresent
As awful as it is, I have used the tried and true dumpster method for 99% of my "recycling" needs. At the point where the PC isn't worth putting a modem in, or isn't worth the space it occupies on the floor, I'm not willing to pay to dispose of it, and neither has any customer I've ever had. Try telling a small or medium-sized business that they need to pay $50 per unit and several hours of your time to dispose of PCs and watch them laugh.

On the other hand, when I worked at BP, the machines that were at-the-time only 12- to 18 months old that were being removed (basically 500 and 600MHz computers in 2000) had to be packaged and shipped to a "recycler" which was then contractually obligated to deal with the environmental costs associated with disposal (which I think just meant selling them to the sorts of places that take lease-returned equipment) of them in the event a BP computer ever turned up in a landfill.
 
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