Recycle your old computer
Jacob Schor, ND
October 13, 2007

A Denver non-profit group called Tech for All will refurbish and find a home for your old computer or, if its too obsolete, will dismantle and recycle it.

see:
http://www.denvertechforall.org/Activities.htm


A great story appeared in the Rocky Mountain News last summer about Rose Keating.  She is puts meaning to the phrase 'no child left behind' by making sure every kid in Denver who wants a computer, has one.

Rena and I piled ten years worth of old computers and monitors into the back seat of our car this morning and, along with Poppy, drove over to meet Rose Keating.  She runs an all volunteer non-profit located at 1709 South Acoma Street, that's just a block west of Broadway.  She and her crew refurbish used computers. If a computer isn't working they figure out why and cobble together bits from other computers until they have one that works.  Once ready to go, they give them away.  If they aren't fixable, they dismantle them and recycle the materials.

She keeps a running tally.  As of this morning, they have given away 1,099 computers. 

They also teach classes, especially for seniors who have lived a lifetime without the internet.

A great article about Rose and her computer crusaders appeared in the Rocky Mountain News:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/news_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_86_5663445,00.html


It's not just to help needy kids that you should inspire you to drive over to meet Rose.  If you dump your computer into your trash can, it will end up as landfill.  That computer and especially the monitor are toxic.  Nasty things will leach out over time.  Maybe the world's going to warm up and you don't have to worry about future generations, but for those of us who do, it makes good sense to reuse computer guts rather than trashing them.

See article on lead in computer monitors:  http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/stewardship/es0009020.pdf

Greenpeace on toxic computers:
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/assets/binaries/toxic-tech-testing

Apple computer gets failing grade on toxic waste:
http://www.newstarget.com/021867.html

Meeting Rose is an experience in itself.  Not many people are up and in full swing early on a Saturday morning, exuding excitement and good humor like this woman.  It's good to meet people like this and hope that whatever it is that drives them is contagious.

Now my next challenge is to find a home for a garage full of skis.