Discard your gadget...to charity
From Sunday, December 22, 2002
This year give your old gadgets to a charity that may be able to put them to good use according to this New York Times story (registration required). Try the following for PCs www.cristina.org or Donate a Phone at www.donateaphone.org and CollectiveGood at www.collectivegood.com for used cellphones.
The National Recycling Coalition says experts have predicted that nearly 500 million personal computers would become outdated between 1997 and 2007. Yet only about 5 percent of discarded PC's are being donated to charities or nonprofit groups, according to Dataquest, the market research arm of Gartner Inc. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 80 percent of discarded computer components will end up in landfills. And 130 million cellphones are expected to be discarded by 2005, according to Inform, an environmental group based in New York City.
To find a list of groups that recycle electronics or are looking for donations, check the E.P.A.'s Web site, www.epa.gov, or the site of the National Recycling Coalition at www.nrc-recycle.org. It lets people search by ZIP code for groups and businesses that accept old equipment.