..::: Green Land PC :::..
www.green.privateproductivity.com
..::: Green Land PC :::.. www.green.privateproductivity.com
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Hello!
I have a weekend hobby and talent for repairing and refurbishing computers and network gear - to do my part in Reusing, Repurposing, and Recycling unwanted office equipment. You may have old equipment filling up storage space and unsure what to do with it...and so it sits, and sits. Why do we store these things? #1 Concerns about data security - it's easy to shred paper documents, but what about the computer? Many don't know and hold onto machines for years... The hard drive (where data is stored) can be electronically scrubbed/shredded/destroyed - and is safer than mechanical destruction (hammers, drills, saws, etc) - since many gigabytes of data still remain around the damaged drive sectors. #2 Sunk Cost - a computer was purchased for hundreds or thousands of dollars and it's just plain hard to dispose of it... The asset value of computers and other office equipment is typically written off (to zero) in three to six years. Computer equipment value falls dramatically - from IRS depreciation schedule demands to manufacturer new introductions (Moore's Law doubling computing power every eighteen months). An eight year old computer is often 1/10th the speed of "today's" new offerings. #3 Environmental impact - a computer system has significant amounts of lead and other contaminents that are introduced to groundwater if incorrectly disposed of... There are correct methods for reusing, reclaiming, and recycling equipment - the best option is to reuse since no additional energy is required. Solutions - I'll help you navigate available options to reduce the impact of the information age. [:::-A-:::] Contact me to pick up your computers/parts (via the feedback form below). [:::-B-:::] Email if you need additional services or advice... (broken/slow computer to be fixed, data to be moved, upgrade options for your existing computer, custom build a new computer). [:::-C-:::] For a "Do-It-Yourself" Repurposing suggestion list (some technical steps required). Thank you! John (green@privateproductivity.com) 
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| Free
Convenient Pickup! |
Now accepting Computers and Network Equipment from Private Individual Homes, Businesses, Schools, Libraries, Churches, and Other Institutions. | Free Convenient Pickup! |  |
| Currently Green Land PC is accepting the main computer box (Desktop, Tower, or Laptop/Notebook), working or even non-working units that were designed to run Microsoft Windows and use Intel or AMD central processing units. There are future plans to incorporate keyboards, mice, monitors (tube and flat screen), printers, fax machines, Apple/Mac machines, stereo equipment, and so on - so please stay tuned. We may be able to accept a full system (cpu tower plus monitor, keyboard, and mouse) for selected machines (make notes in the submission details below). We have found some demand for Networking Gear such as routers, switches, hubs, Cat5 cables, and etc too. |
| The
oldest systems we see a current need for direct use: Pentium 2
or AMD K6 or newer.
However,
working CD-Roms, floppy disk drives, and hard drives
from older 486 or Pentium I computers can often be used to retrofit and
fix newer machines with broken components. Repaired
systems that are sold for a "second life" cover some of the costs
of dismantling, separating, and recycling of non-working
systems (besides the labor involved, the stripped down carcasses
produce
batteries, coated wire, steel, and circuit boards the
scrap yards charge us to dispose of even though they
are
reclaiming the metals to later resell - something we are continually
striving to improve but for now we get charged). Boxes and the styrofoam packing that either the old computer or your recently upgraded system came in can frequently be reused to pack refurbished units in. If you have a broken computer that you would still like to use (rather than toss it out and purchase a new replacement system yourself) we may be able to offer a quick review and suggestions to get you running again - just send us a note at the email address listed below. Have a business or organization with a need for inexpensive computer systems - send a quick email and we'll see how we can help. Our goal is to keep the environment green longer through reuse (preferred) and recycling (if reuse is not possible). Most recyclers (like local Hazardous waste day events) dismantle computers (pull easy stuff like memory, cd drives, etc) for spare parts, sell a few in batches, then separate plastics and metals and shred the remainder. We rebuild the computers into fully functioning machines so others can get work done and only resort to shredding for the broken/burned out /non-functioning pieces. We prefer equipment donations (due to the expense of refurbishing and dismantling) but depending on how current the machine is (minimum for such consideration is a Pentium/AMD better than a P3-800Mhz), we can evaluate the equipment and make a nominal cash offer (emphasis on nominal though!). We can also try to sell newer equipment on a consignment basis and share proceeds over our costs. |
Reusing, finding a new home for
a discarded computer, saves
significant energy over recycling. Many states have passed, are
passing, or are considering passing laws
that prohibit the curb-side dumping of electronic items such as computers, monitors, and
printers requiring these
items to be properly disposed of. Just some of the hazardous
materials
in
a regular computer system: Lead, Mercury, Chromium,
Zinc, Tin, and Copper, and other
harmful materials that can enter a landfill and groundwater if disposed
with normal curb-side household waste. Computer equipment
from
businesses are classified by the EPA as hazardous waste if that
business
wants to
get rid of older machines via landfill (then requires using special and
more costly hazardous waste
landfills). * * * Refurbished computers help the end user save significant costs over a new system they were considering and help everyone reduce the environmental impact caused by old unit landfill disposal and new unit creation from raw materials (some estimates peg the raw material consumption at two tons per computer system - not including the conversion energy to transform them into end items!) |
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Security! All Hard drives are wiped clean of data (using the same software used by many government institutions), while email and pickup addresses are not shared with other outside businesses (see *|* Security notes at the end) |
| Thank
you for considering us! Green Land PC |
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| Why
is this project being undertaken? The following
statistics
give a quick introduction to the severity of the electronics problem
facing our nation. Some statistics from the research book "Garbage Land - On The Secret Trail Of Trash" by Elizabeth Royte, 2005: National Safety Council says 50 million computers will become "obsolete" every year through 2009. Carnegie Mellon University researchers indicates that 150 million PCs were landfilled by 2005 Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition publishes expectation that over 150,000 computers and televisions are replaced and scraped every day. The average 15" desktop monitor itself contains 4 lbs of Lead (and all electronic equipment contributes 40% of a landfill's lead content). Circuit boards contain Antimony, Chromium, Zinc, Lead, Tin, and Copper. Then there is the plastic (dependence on oil) and glass (contaminated with lead). It takes almost Two Tons of raw materials to produce one finished PC system. "Across the nation, electronic waste is accumulating faster than anyone knows what to do with it - almost three times faster, in fact, than our overall municipal waste stream." |
| *|*
Security Note:
If you would prefer to directly wipe the hard drives on your machine
yourself, right click with your mouse on the following link to open a
new window and
use the instructions for "Booting from a Floppy" <Active@Killdisk.com
- web site link> or search around for a blank formated
floppy disk and press
the
next link to download the file directly and run. The file will install
the "Killdisk" program on the
floppy disk <Active's
quick download link>.
Insert the floppy into the
target machine and power up. The
"Killdisk" program will prompt several times to ensure you intend to
erase everything, answer positive and the program will chug
along
shredding all data on the hard
drive by writing zeros and ones repeatedly over top of original data to
erradicate it, often needing to run several hours, all day, or even
overnight for
larger drives. Make sure you really
don't want the information on the
drive
before running the floppy disk program as the data will no longer be
retrievable! Another option is to search the internet using "google" or another search engine for various companies offering data destruction software, some may even advocate smashing the drive or drilling holes through the case/disks, but those are localized effects that a concerted effort might retrieve everything around the "holes" which can be significant given today's high capacity drives. Best option is to wipe all data with the above or similar offerings so all the data bits are electronically eliminated. Also, hard drives tend to be an early system failure so between the failed units and well intentioned drive destruction we are continually short of usable drives and are forced to purchase replacements. |