# Montreal & Toronto: Free Recycle Your Old Comps!



## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

Check it out. I think I'll haul my Powerbook 520, my old 8100 G3/266, my old 19" Sony monitor that doesn't work anymore, and aaaaaaall of my old SCSI and NuBus crap in there, man!

http://www.zerofootprint.net/green_events/calendar_detail.asp?ID=9852&uID


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Recycling? I don't think so.

Keep in mind that they re-sell everything they can get their hands on.

While that may be better than littering or filling landfills, how hard is it to pass on that old (working) monitor or computer to someone who needs it?

www.computation.to

http://www.computation.to/pdesktop.html


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

Either way, it gets out of my house. They're welcome to try and sell this stuff if they want to.

As for me? I've already tried giving the 8100 away. It is too quirky a system, hardware-wise, for neophyte computer users to deal with. And, as it can not run OS X (yes, even wth Xpostfacto it cannot), it's a hassle to support.

It's time for them to go.


PS: And actually, the Sony monitor isn't working.


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## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

This is not even a charity.

That being said, I think that the old days of simply passing on computer hardware that is more than 5-10 years old are long past us. No one wants equipment that barely work, are a pain to support or simply hazardous waste.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

Then, instead of MOANING about this, give me a link to what you think I should do with this, m-kay? A USEFUL suggestion -- somewhat like what I was trying to do -- would be better than wasting bandwidth bitching about it.

Both of you! Help out instead of being negative.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

I think they are kvetching because Reboot does provide computers to schools that need them AND provides a tax receipt.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

Then, that's all I need to hear.

A qujick Google brings up this:

http://www.rebootcanada.ca/

But, from these two, all you get is that arrogant attitude bitching... 

and you know how much I hate that.

Thanks, MacDoc.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

No, I hate reBoot bunches.

I once advertised I was looking for a particular system, and got an email from reBoot seeing if I wanted something older for 3 times what it should have cost--and by their admission it was beat up, and not fully functional. I reminded them about their charitable status, and that it wasn't good to re-sell items that people gave them thinking they would be given to schools or the needy--not sold for more than they should go for.

These are *stores.* They sell things. If they were honest, fine, save items from recyclying and/or give things away. But they are stores, they take what they can take and sell for a profit. Sometimes for a lot of profit. Calling yourself a charity makes this a stupid exercise.

I have no answer for Macaholic. Nobody wants these old items, even if they work sometimes. I'd just prefer that reBoot and Computation didn't lie to us.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

So... still NOTHING useful from ya? 'cept for more moaning??

Thanks for stopping by.


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## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

Macaholic said:


> Then, that's all I need to hear.
> 
> A qujick Google brings up this:
> 
> ...


Actually, I would have brought up Reboot except that it always seems to bring out naysayers about them and I'd hate to have to fight those battles again and again. Look, HowEver, Reboot is part of a charity. If you want the straight scoop, then, by all means contact Terry over there and have a look at the place.

Macaholic, you can look up Reboot on ehMac and see where this has all been discussed before. BTW, Reboot will no longer take in monitors for free. They now charge $25 or $50 to dispose of them. You can try to give them the 8100 but their warehouse (which I visited in April of this year) is as packed as ever and Terry says that very few organizations want Mac hardware/software.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

I called Reboot. They'll accept the Macs. I have to pay a fee (I thought it was ten dollars) for the monitor.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Macaholic said:


> So... still NOTHING useful from ya? 'cept for more moaning??
> 
> Thanks for stopping by.


Wow. You may not care that these places are dishonest, and you may not see that as a problem. Others can differ, but save the name-calling for something more important, okay?


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## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

Macaholic said:


> I called Reboot. They'll accept the Macs. I have to pay a fee (I thought it was ten dollars) for the monitor.


They'll take the 8100? Gee, I guess Terry must have gotten rid of some of those Sun workstations! :lmao: 

The 520 they will probably be able to give away or even sell.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

HowEver said:


> Wow. You may not care that these places are dishonest, and you may not see that as a problem. Others can differ, but save the name-calling for something more important, okay?


Offer _options_, please.


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## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

Macaholic, you going to their location? If they're not too busy, I'm sure that Terry will allow you to wander through the warehouse.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

I don't know when I'm coming down.

And, if they both turn out to be "scams", I might as well "get scammed" by the store closewr to me.


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## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

Geez...it's not a scam. I've known about Reboot since the mid-'90s when they had a retail storefront on Queen St. West.

Reboot is simply a small retail operation run by the rest of the charity which, as Terry will tell you, does not receive government funding. All of their money comes from corporations and other donors. Their finances are available online from the government since they are a registered charity.

P.S. Before someone goes around saying that Terry has a nice car and what-not...how would you know? The guy lives in Hamilton and commutes via GO train everyday where he is picked up at the station by his boss.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

ByteMe is part of reBoot computers.

From January 2006:



> >--- Byte Me Computers <[email protected]>
> >wrote:
> >
> > > Hello,
> ...





> >To: Byte Me Computers <[email protected]>
> >So, you're not exactly a charity, then, correct?
> >


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

We need a freecycle forum here on ehmac (darn it!).


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## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

And, HowEver, what was their exact response to your query?

For more information, you can go to CCRA, where reBOOT Canada is a registered charity:

https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/sec/SrchInput03Render-e?bn=891114043RR0001

There is also a section where you can look up their income:

https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/hai...1&name=THE+COMPUTING+SOCIETY+TO+REBOOT+CANADA

And, if you look at their 2005 numbers, you will see that their total revenue from the sale of goods and services makes up just over 10% of their total income. So, they're not reselling EVERYTHING that they're getting. They're selling some products that cannot be given away to their intended recipients.

You can also get an approximation of Terry's salary which is between $1 and $39,900. No one in that organization is getting rich by any means.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

IronMac said:


> Geez...it's not a scam.


Please note that I put quotes around the "scam" words.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

IronMac said:


> And, HowEver, what was their exact response to your query?


I posted a request on an online forum and ByteMe wrote to me offering to sell some old computers which I assume were donated to reBoot. ByteMe then confirmed the connection to reBoot and gave the same phone number and address.

Their response was "It would seem that way, but we're the part that sells to the public."

I'm not sure why disbelief in this enterprise should be met with such scorn. This isn't all I know about reBoot, or Computation. I'm sure Computation doesn't make a ton of money selling somebody's used monitor, and I wasn't talking about the ones that don't work--but advertising a recyclying service and then selling the goods is not honest.

It's like those companies that leave you bags at your door asking for your used clothing. They re-sell the good stuff here, and the rest is sold by weight. They aren't charities, at least not in the usual sense.


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

HowEver said:


> It's like those companies that leave you bags at your door asking for your used clothing. They re-sell the good stuff here, and the rest is sold by weight. They aren't charities, at least not in the usual sense.


The used clothing business is big money here in Toronto. There was a huge Toronto Star exposé about this. Many of the donation bins you see are not for true charities. Your donated clothing will rarely be found on the backs of the needy locally. This bugs me a lot.

The sad reality is that much of the clothes collected throughout North America does not actually find its way to those in need in North America. There is a huge industry behind those donation bins found in supermarket parking lots.

These clothes are collected by various agencies pre-sorted or sold bulk by the pound to used clothing re-marketers. For-profit companies, such as *Value Village* make millions of dollars buying and selling thrift goods. Any extra is sold by the pound and sent overseas to Africa and S.E. Asia. The cheap used clothing is often seen on people in the Third World.

Granted that agencies do raise funds by re-selling these donations, it is a hard reality that it most likely won't find it's way to people who need it right away. As well, it disrupts the local economies of Third World nations.



> *For sale -- cheap: 'Dead white men's clothing'
> In Africa, the West's castoff clothes are de rigueur, not demeaning. Nearly everyone has to buy used.*
> 
> By Davan Maharaj, L.A.Times Staff Writer
> ...


I often think about my 1987 U2 Joshua Tree tour shirt which was practically new when I dumped it in a donation bin ten years ago.


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## Computation (Jul 20, 2006)

*Thank you for your interest in computer recycling and Computation.*

Dear Sirs/Madams,

We at Computation would like to thank you for your interest in computer/e-waste/IT recycling. For a rather complete description of what we do, and how we do it you are welcome to visit our website: www.computation.to, or store/facility @ 2444 Bloor St West (just west of Jane St on the north side of Bloor St West, entrance at the rear). If you'd like more information please feel free to contact me directly as well.

Processing computer related equipment at end-of-life is a costly endeavour, and one that has, as of yet, received too little attention, and certainly too little investment to protect our environment adequately -- one of our stated goals. We have attempted to self-finance our process by using the value of working technology to offset the cost of processing non-reusable equipment. This does not always work, for example, proper disposal of monitors is quite costly, we charge $10/unit for non-reusable units, and there are many of these, further commercial quantities often require large spaces, and staff to process. For the general public we host monthly drop-off events, where the vast majority of items are accepted freely (in residential quantities). 

If any of you have suggestions as to how we could evolve a better model to process this stream of waste (perhaps, after coming to know our existing process more accurately), keeping in mind that there is in excess of 200,000 tonnes of e-waste being generated in Canada each year and that a serious operational/business model is required, I would be more than willing to hear well thought out contributions.

Best regards,
Dennis Maslo
Managing Partner
Computation Ltd.
[email protected]
416.910.4358


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

Thanks, Dennis, for your post


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

I beleive that part of the LEEDs effort in green buildings also addresses compltete end to to end cycle not only of the building materials but all furniture and things like computers that go into the building.
So it's not good enough just to have say an EnergyStar rating on a monitor but also the goods need to to have a clear recycle stream that is non polluting to gain the highest Platinum rating.
I applaud organizations like ReBoot who attempt to make this stream self finance.
There was a good article in the Economist about the growth of such "special function" organizations that take on tasks that fit neither gov, private or charity well but draw on aspects of each.

I think there was an article about scavengers in a South American city that were doing such a good job in recycle they were given vests showing official city support.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Wow. It's still strange to see Computation advertising units for sale on craigslist, but nice message above.

It's nice to see an alternative to that stereotypical Tony Soprano business model.

Waste management and recycling are a massive industry; some of the largest companies in North America both create huge waste and dispose of it, and the industry is worth billions. Nice to know they have time to sign on at our little forum.

Kudos Dennis.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

Ahh... I love the smell of sarcasm in the morning...


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

oh my. You mean to tell me someone has thought of starting a business that takes old computers people would just as soon kick to the curb and creating a self supporting (profit?) company?

sneaky buggers them.


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