Stop hoarding those old computers; start recycling

I think it’s safe to say that most people have at least one IT component sitting around their home, collecting dust.  Is it that old CRT computer monitor from the ’90s up in the attic?  Or how about that laptop you stopped using five years ago after upgrading? For me, it was an old printer/scanner that had stopped functioning properly years ago.

If you go

What: iPoint’s second annual ‘Flowers for Towers’

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 22-24

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Where: 135 W. Swallow Road, Building A, in Fort Collins

More information: ipoint-tech.com/flowers-for-towers

So, why do we hold onto these junkers for so long?  Unless you’re a hoarder, I believe that most of the public does not have the proper resources or knowledge of how to dispose of them properly. In recognition of Earth Day this month, take a few minutes to assess your own IT “graveyard” and consider the following information:

• 20 to 50 million metric tons of e-waste are disposed of worldwide every year.

• Recycling 1 million laptops saves the energy equivalent of the electricity used by more than 3,500 U.S. homes in a year.

• For every million cell phones recycled, 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold can be recovered.

• E-waste only represents 2 percent of America’s trash in landfills, but it equals 70 percent of overall toxic waste. The extreme amount of lead and other toxins in electronics can cause severe damage to the nervous system, blood and kidneys.

• It takes 539 pounds of fossil fuel, 48 pounds of chemicals and 1.5 tons of water to manufacture one computer and monitor.

Recycling your old computers and electronics is good for the environment, the community, and you. Rather than dumping your old laptop in the garbage during spring cleaning, seek out local IT recyclers in your community. They will part-out components for proper recycling, which keeps toxic materials from entering our environment – and often for little to no cost.

For those of you with disposable IT components, iPoint is hosting its second annual “Flowers for Towers” event in partnership with IT Refresh to securely recycle or dispose of your old computer equipment. The following items will be recycled at no cost: PC towers, servers, laptops, printers, scanners and fax machines.

Participants receive a gift certificate to the Fort Collins Nursery in exchange. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 22-24 at the iPoint office, 135 W. Swallow Road, Building A, in Fort Collins. More details are online at ipoint-tech.com/flowers-for-towers.

Hans Broman, a sales and marketing strategist at iPoint in Fort Collins, can be reached at hbroman@ipoint-tech.com.