Ever wondered what happens after we decide a computer is no longer fashionable to own. At least some of them end up at FreeGeek, an ethical computer recycling center. If you live in selected places like Portland, Vancouver (Canada) or a few other cities in the US, you can see it for yourself. It is a happening place, unwanted computers of all ages and shapes turn up here. To be reincarnated as yet another computer. The mission of FreeGeek is to help the needy get nerdy. Strange indeed, the Silicon valley of the world does not have a FreeGeek.
FreeGeek takes in all the unloved computers, tests them to see if they are actually usable or if the parts can be extracted. Reuse before recycle is key.
It is a lot of work that goes into this process. Most of this work is handled by volunteers. FreeGeek is a non-profit organization and some of their money comes from the precious metals like gold, silver and copper found in the motherboards. They also help in regulation of ewaste. They stop of lot of toxic material from the computers being sent to the poor countries. Most of the ships that bring in goods into the US and Canada may be leaving with tons of toxic material. Even though this is illegal, there are some loop holes in the procedures. The toxic material ends up elsewhere in the world.
Even though I like most of what FreeGeek does, I was quite appalled at what gets reused. For example, if the keyboard is even slightly dirty, it gets discarded. Black is preferred to white keyboards. It involves too much labor to clean it. This is sent to yet another recycler who figures out what to do with them. The reused components get built into reincarnated computers and sold at the thrift store or given away free to volunteers.
Interestingly, this is one place where Macs are not considered cool, in fact they are despised. They are a headache to recycle. FreeGeek loves PCs but dislikes Windows. Linux and Opensource is what is loved at Freegeek.
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