Ever tried to get rid of an old, sack o’ crap computer? It’s not as easy as it sounds. You can’t just throw it in the garbage (legally), charitable organizations have finally realized that it takes more time and effort than it’s worth to refurbish a 486 DX2/66 machine that nobody’s going to use anyway, and dumping the computer at your municipal recycling center often costs a pretty penny.
Apparently thanks to a partnership between Dell and Goodwill, you can freely recycle old computers at almost 2,000 Goodwill locations around the country.
They’ll even take monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, cables, and speakers. Ever tried to get rid of a CRT monitor? It’s even harder and more expensive than getting rid of a computer.
Equipment that still has a little bit of life left in it actually gets reused and even resold, while “devices in need of repair will either be refurbished or broken down into parts to be recycled by Dell partners.”
Check the program’s website to see if there’s a participating location near you. Nothing in Boston yet, where I live, but if and when a location starts participating here, I’ve got a whole truckload to bring over.