From: blockedofcourse@foo.invalid   
      
   On 12/17/2025 10:40 AM, Buzz McCool wrote:   
   > On 12/14/2025 11:26 AM, Don Y wrote:   
   >> I repair a lot of LCD/LED TVs -- to keep them from the land fill.   
   > Don, how do you happen to come across so many repairable TVs and other   
   > consumer electronics?   
      
   "Electronics" are considered "hazardous waste" (I'm not sure if that   
   is the law elsewhere but it is, here -- heavy metals, etc.).   
      
   So, anyone (residents, businesses, etc.) who wants to dispose   
   of an old computer, TV, microwave oven, cell phone, etc. is   
   prevented from just tossing it in with the regular trash.   
   You, effectively, have to find a way to turn it into   
   someone *else's* problem!  :>   
      
   The city offers places where you can drop off "hazardous waste"   
   items (which also includes the sorts of things that you would   
   consider to be hazardous -- insecticides, herbicides, motor   
   oil, etc.).  But, these are only open sporadically.   
      
   Many "second hand stores" will accept "donations".  But, the   
   *smart* ones will only accept working kit (that they can hope   
   to sell) as anything that doesn't work becomes THEIR disposal   
   problem.   
      
   There are also several non-profits who "recycle" kit.  Depending   
   on their mission statements, this could be for disaster relief,   
   recycling, refurbishment, etc.   
      
   [The mantra is "Reuse, Refurbish, Repurpose, Recycle" to indicate   
   the prefered priorities of processing such "waste"]   
      
   Imagine you are a business with 5,000 PC "seats".  And, your IT   
   department has you on a 3 year update cycle.  So, every 3 years,   
   you have to find a way to dispose of 5,000 PCs.  And, do so without   
   incurring a lot of cost or effort.   
      
   E.g., the local university tackles this by having periodic auctions.   
   This gives them a chance to try to reclaim some value (for the   
   taxpayers who support it) as well as a convenient way of "making it   
   someone else's problem".   
      
   [Many years ago, I had my eyes on a particularly attractive "lot"   
   (pallet full of kit).  But, noticed a 10 pound jar of mercury hidden   
   amongst the items.  Not the sort of liability that I would want to   
   take on!]   
      
   Some firms contract with a service to take "everything" and   
   deal with it.  This is usually an ongoing effort with monthly   
   pickups, etc.   
      
   One of the non-profits I've worked with (20+ years) recycles kit   
   to provide affordable computers to underprivileged kids, families,   
   etc.  Medical equipment usually is sent to Mexico, Panama, etc.   
      
   [A doctor/dentist may close his practice and literally have   
   EVERYTHING shipped to us.  It's easier than him trying to find   
   someone who wants a "used" dental chair or X-Ray or....]   
      
   I "borrow" all sorts of kit that others tend not to want.   
      
   E.g., I have six Z800's that I use for my workstation (partitioned   
   based on software and peripherals associated with that type of "work").   
   No one would want them as they are large towers weighing in at ~50 pounds.   
      
   I have six tower format servers, each with 8 spindles, that I use for   
   my filestore.   
      
   A couple of 8 and 16 spindle NASs (that I have been retiring in favor   
   of the tower servers as I can control the software running, there).   
      
   A boatload of monitors (13 presently deployed for those workstations)   
   and another *20* on a shelf (fix the inverters and set them aside).   
      
   [I like to have identical machines, monitors, etc. and having spares   
   just sitting there to be used means I can defer any NEW repairs that   
   may be needed]   
      
   And, crates of disk drives.   
      
   It's all essentially "borrowed" as I return anything that I have no   
   further use for to the same source -- where it finally becomes THEIR   
   problem, again.  E.g., I have ~20 1T+ disk drives going back as they   
   either have a "bad sector" or are just too small (capacity) for me   
   to use, given the availability of other larger drives (i.e., SAS drives   
   aren't useful in consumer machines so I tend to rescue those and   
   leave SATA drives behind).   
      
   You might start by looking for auctions, nearby.  (Again, ask yourself   
   where all of that surplus kit ends up!)  Call the IT department at   
   your local hospital, school system, etc. and ask what they do with the   
   stuff.   
      
   I've got a neighbor who is always retiring business telephone systems.   
   (business telephones are essentially trash as each is specific to   
   a particular vendor)   
      
   I find the auctions to be sort of therapeutic.  Perhaps because I   
   don't NEED anything there so can afford to bid low and be pleasantly   
   surprised if I win something (many folks make a business out of   
   refurbishing and reselling stuff from auctions so they are under   
   more pressure to produce a profit for themselves).  I have a really   
   nice, high-backed swivel chair that I use in the office that set me   
   back $6.  I've lined the walls of BOTH sides of the garage with 7 ft   
   tall, industrial shelving -- set me back $35 for the lot.  I picked   
   up a Kurzweil/Xerox "Personal Reader" for $7.  And, the scanner that   
   mates with it for another $7.  My 12-sheet cross-cut shredder was also   
   $7 (at one point, the minimum bid for lots was $7 hence the plethora   
   of purchases at that price).   
      
   My work at the aforementioned non-profit has tapered off, over the   
   years, as I "lose hope" of ever making a meaningful dent in any   
   of this stuff.  But, I'm happy that I've been able to provide   
   electric wheelchairs and scooters to folks who needed them.  And,   
   countless PCs.  The TVs seem to be a losing battle as they just   
   keep getting bigger (and cheaper)!  Eventually, someone will impose   
   fees for their disposal (as is the case with CRT products, now).   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)