Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste
facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic
things.

How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important
is it to recycle them?

They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and
monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of
the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass
is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even
the lead along that surface can escape.

As to the rest, do they clip out the transistors to recycle the
germanium? How much recycling do they really do? I was told by a
recycler that no one will pay for the stuff, and the counties have to
pay them to come and get it. If it were really recycled, wouldn't it
be worth something?



(The radio didn't say one way or the other if they would now refuse to
pick up such things curbside, as they have been doing.)

Remove NOPSAM to email me..

mm spake thus:

Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste
facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic
things.

How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important
is it to recycle them?

They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and
monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of
the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass
is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even
the lead along that surface can escape.

First of all, not true: think about all the solder on the circuit
boards. Until manufacturers go to completely lead-free solder (ugh),
there'll be plenty of Pb besides in the tube.

It's not so much a matter of the lead "escaping" (I'm guessing you're
visualizing it going off into the air somehow) as leaching into water in
a landfill, where it can form all kinds of lead-containing compounds
that can come back to poison us. So yes, it's a real problem, not just
something that some environmental bureaucrat dreamed up.


--
"In 1964 Barry Goldwater declared: 'Elect me president, and I
will bomb the cities of Vietnam, defoliate the jungles, herd the
population into concentration camps and turn the country into a
wasteland.' But Lyndon Johnson said: 'No! No! No! Don't you dare do
that. Let ME do it.'"

- Characterization (paraphrased) of the 1964 Goldwater/Johnson
presidential race by Professor Irwin Corey, "The World's Foremost
Authority."

mm wrote:

Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste
facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic
things.

How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important
is it to recycle them?

They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and
monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of
the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass
is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even
the lead along that surface can escape.

As long as the dumps don't leach into the water table that's true.


As to the rest, do they clip out the transistors to recycle the
germanium? How much recycling do they really do? I was told by a
recycler that no one will pay for the stuff, and the counties have to
pay them to come and get it. If it were really recycled, wouldn't it
be worth something?

(The radio didn't say one way or the other if they would now refuse to
pick up such things curbside, as they have been doing.)

It's a con.

Ppl are in the future going to have to effectively *pay* for them to be
recycled simply because there is nothing much worth recycling !

It's started in Europe already. Expect prices of consumer electronics to
rise ~ 10%.

Graham

p.s. nesgroups aren't here for ppl to email you. You're meant to come back
to read the replies and comment otherwise the purpose of them is lost.

mm wrote in
:

Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste
facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic
things.

How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important
is it to recycle them?

They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and
monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of
the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass
is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even
the lead along that surface can escape.

As to the rest, do they clip out the transistors to recycle the
germanium? How much recycling do they really do? I was told by a
recycler that no one will pay for the stuff, and the counties have to
pay them to come and get it. If it were really recycled, wouldn't it
be worth something?



(The radio didn't say one way or the other if they would now refuse to
pick up such things curbside, as they have been doing.)

Remove NOPSAM to email me..


I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get
mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't
recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all
kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks.

"mm" wrote in message
...
Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste
facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic
things.

How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important
is it to recycle them?

(The radio didn't say one way or the other if they would now refuse to
pick up such things curbside, as they have been doing.)

In Seattle, you have to pay normally to get rid of tv's and monitors.
They won't take your garbage if they are seen in it.,

Bob

On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 04:25:14 +0100, Eeyore
wrote:



p.s. nesgroups aren't here for ppl to email you. You're meant to come back
to read the replies and comment otherwise the purpose of them is lost.

I know. The sig is only intended for people who want to mail me for
whatever reasons of their own. I'm not requesting email.

Remove NOPSAM to email me..

On Mon, 16 Oct 2006 22:50:16 -0500, Al Bundy
wrote:


As to the rest, do they clip out the transistors to recycle the
germanium? How much recycling do they really do? I was told by a
recycler that no one will pay for the stuff, and the counties have to
pay them to come and get it. If it were really recycled, wouldn't it
be worth something?


I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get
mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't
recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all
kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks.

Wow. I guess it's better than the guano mines, but otoh, they pay a
lot better. Hard to believe it would be worth it to ship stuff from
the US all the way to this place, or anywhere like it.

Definitely they knowingly took tv's and monitors in Baltimore County
until this opened, and probably still do. Just Sunday a friend of
mine told me how he missed the annual neighborhood dumpster and didn't
know what to do with a whole door, but he put it out, and the county
took it. I've seen them take kitchen cabinets too.

But they did cut out once a month bulk collection (big things) and now
one has to phone someone, and agree on a day to put it out. And pay
for it in most cases.

Remove NOPSAM to email me..

Al Bundy ha escrito:

mm wrote in
:

Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste
facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic
things.

How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important
is it to recycle them?

They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and
monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of
the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass
is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even
the lead along that surface can escape.

As to the rest, do they clip out the transistors to recycle the
germanium? How much recycling do they really do? I was told by a
recycler that no one will pay for the stuff, and the counties have to
pay them to come and get it. If it were really recycled, wouldn't it
be worth something?



(The radio didn't say one way or the other if they would now refuse to
pick up such things curbside, as they have been doing.)

Remove NOPSAM to email me..


I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get
mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't
recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all
kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks.

that is known as e-waste dumping. Our post -consumer residue ends up
****ing over the envirnoment in the developing world. see these links:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1839997.stm

and

http://lowendmac.com/archive/02/0503.html

and
http://www.tchd.org/pdfs/electronic_waste.pdf
and
http://www.eldis.org/static/DOC12678.htm

apparently there was a treaty ( Basel Convention) , which the United
States has not ratified (along with almost any other environmental
initiative, Kyoto etc, the US government just does not want to know.
They probably owe so many favours to corporate interests that nothing
ever gets done.

-B.

I see no reason why the plastic and occasional metal casings can't be
recycled. The rest can go into an incinerator.

"Al Bundy" wrote in message
...

I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get
mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't
recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all
kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks.

Yes, and they aren't following the EU protocols for handling such hazardous
waste.

"Al Bundy" wrote in message

I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get
mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't
recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all
kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks.

I guess there is some money to be made from them. I know of a plant being
built in Florida that will specialize in recycling electronics. Used to be
some gold in the connectors but I think much has been eliminated.

There must be a lot of bulk in that stuff. I'm just thinking of my personal
use over the last 15 - 20 years or so. I'm on my fifth monitor, at least
the fourth computer (some were upgraded in the same case), three printers
moved on, two TVs. Makes for a fair amount of bulk for just one person.

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
mm spake thus:

Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste
facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic
things.

How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important
is it to recycle them?

They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and
monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of
the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass
is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even
the lead along that surface can escape.

First of all, not true: think about all the solder on the circuit boards.
Until manufacturers go to completely lead-free solder (ugh), there'll be
plenty of Pb besides in the tube.

It's not so much a matter of the lead "escaping" (I'm guessing you're
visualizing it going off into the air somehow) as leaching into water in a
landfill, where it can form all kinds of lead-containing compounds that
can come back to poison us. So yes, it's a real problem, not just
something that some environmental bureaucrat dreamed up.


That's a matter of opinion ... There are many more much more serious sources
of environmental pollutants that represent a far greater risk to health than
lead in electronic waste.

Arfa

"Edwin Pawlowski" ) writes:
"Al Bundy" wrote in message

I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get
mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't
recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all
kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks.

I guess there is some money to be made from them. I know of a plant being
built in Florida that will specialize in recycling electronics. Used to be
some gold in the connectors but I think much has been eliminated.

There are two issues there. The first is keeping unneeded things out
of the landfill. The second is recovering some of the material.

The recovery is I gather expensive compared to what they recover, and
the materials needed for the recovery is toxic. So when it's shipped
over to third world countries, the danger comes because they are trying
to make money off it, and take steps that wouldn't be allowed in North
America. The toxic stuff ends up in the water table over there, rather
than in North America, though at least when it's shipped over there, they
are trying to do recovery.

There must be a lot of bulk in that stuff. I'm just thinking of my personal
use over the last 15 - 20 years or so. I'm on my fifth monitor, at least
the fourth computer (some were upgraded in the same case), three printers
moved on, two TVs. Makes for a fair amount of bulk for just one person.

If people simply did some stripping themselves before tossing, a good
portion of the bulk would diminish. If people throwing out computers would
take the electronics out, and then get the metal casing to metal recycling,
that does take care of much of the bulk. Same with printers, get the circuit
boards out of the plastic. Not a perfect solution, but better than
nothing.

I've never tossed something that is intact. But then I want the parts
myself. So I will strip a bad hard drive down, get the magnets out of it,
and the metal from them goes to metal recycling. This is not even some
great skill, if people can screw together an Ikea table, they can strip
down their computer before tossing.

But then there's an interesting point. If I come across a computer waiting
for the garbage, if it's intact (and of interest), I'd make the effort to
bring it home. But the more that's been stripped, the less likely I
will. I may take parts, if anything interesting remains. A complete
unit might find someone who can fix it or make use of it (a lot of
electronics is tossed for reasons other than it's broken), but a stripped
unit won't.

And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced
the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like
that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim
something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off
something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought
home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items,
at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection.
Yet I imagine there is much that can't find a market, because it's old
or obscure, the sorts of things I'd really like to come across. The rest
is likely stripped, but again, I wonder if they seek the hard to reuse
things like the gold on connectors, rather than the parts themselves.

Michael

Michael Black wrote:

And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced
the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like
that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim
something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off
something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought
home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items,
at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection.

Alexandria, Virginia, 50 miles to the southwest of the original poster,
prefers that "obsolete" computer equipment be turned in at the toxic
waste dump (as I call it), which is open one day per week. They have a
huge dumpster, open so that you can walk in, that slowly fills with
CPUs, printers, and monitors. In addition, people throw in old stereo
equipment and TV sets. When the coast is clear and no one is looking,
sometimes I help myself to an occasional goody. Usually I can recover a
toner cartridge or a needed cable. If I saw a nice open reel tape deck,
I'd try as hard as I could to grab it and run.

The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal
recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to
stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a
mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking.

I have seen one of those full dumpsters being hauled away. It was an
absolute heap of electronics, all headed off for destruction.

b wrote:

that is known as e-waste dumping. Our post -consumer residue ends up
****ing over the envirnoment in the developing world. see these links:

This exists on a much, much larger scale in the industry known as
shipbreaking. When oceangoing vessels are retired, they often get sent
to a third world country, where they are taken onto the beach and
broken down into smaller pieces.

A Canadian photographer named Edward Burtynsky specializes in
photographing shipbreaking. There's a link to shipbreaking at his
website.

http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/

http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/WORKS/Ships/Ships.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Burtynsky

Look for his book "Manufactured Landscapes : The Photographs of Edward
Burtynsky."

For an excellent resource for connecting people who have usable items
they don't want with people who would like to have them, check out
www.freecycle.org. It's set up as a way to keep things out of
landfills, when possible.

Jo Ann

Beloved Leader wrote:
Michael Black wrote:

And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced
the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like
that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim
something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off
something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought
home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items,
at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection.

Alexandria, Virginia, 50 miles to the southwest of the original poster,
prefers that "obsolete" computer equipment be turned in at the toxic
waste dump (as I call it), which is open one day per week. They have a
huge dumpster, open so that you can walk in, that slowly fills with
CPUs, printers, and monitors. In addition, people throw in old stereo
equipment and TV sets. When the coast is clear and no one is looking,
sometimes I help myself to an occasional goody. Usually I can recover a
toner cartridge or a needed cable. If I saw a nice open reel tape deck,
I'd try as hard as I could to grab it and run.

The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal
recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to
stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a
mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking.

I have seen one of those full dumpsters being hauled away. It was an
absolute heap of electronics, all headed off for destruction.

"Beloved Leader" wrote in message
ups.com...

The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal
recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to
stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a
mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking.

Contact the city government and tell them what you want to do.

Beloved Leader wrote:
Michael Black wrote:


And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced
the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like
that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim
something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off
something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought
home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items,
at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection.


Alexandria, Virginia, 50 miles to the southwest of the original poster,
prefers that "obsolete" computer equipment be turned in at the toxic
waste dump (as I call it), which is open one day per week. They have a
huge dumpster, open so that you can walk in, that slowly fills with
CPUs, printers, and monitors. In addition, people throw in old stereo
equipment and TV sets. When the coast is clear and no one is looking,
sometimes I help myself to an occasional goody. Usually I can recover a
toner cartridge or a needed cable. If I saw a nice open reel tape deck,
I'd try as hard as I could to grab it and run.

The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal
recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to
stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a
mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking.

I have seen one of those full dumpsters being hauled away. It was an
absolute heap of electronics, all headed off for destruction.



You can easily intercept a lot of good stuff if you post on craigslist
asking for free broken electronics. I used to pick up loads of good
stuff but eventually I had far too many projects and no need for any
more electronics.

wrote in message
ups.com...

For an excellent resource for connecting people who have usable items
they don't want with people who would like to have them, check out
www.freecycle.org. It's set up as a way to keep things out of
landfills, when possible.

Also Craig's List (free section).

A lot of what's on TV may be "hazardous waste," but I've never had a
problem getting rid of one. I put it on the curb and it disappears
long before the garbage men get to it. G

Arfa Daily spake thus:

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...

It's not so much a matter of the lead "escaping" (I'm guessing you're
visualizing it going off into the air somehow) as leaching into water in a
landfill, where it can form all kinds of lead-containing compounds that
can come back to poison us. So yes, it's a real problem, not just
something that some environmental bureaucrat dreamed up.

That's a matter of opinion ... There are many more much more serious sources
of environmental pollutants that represent a far greater risk to health than
lead in electronic waste.

Well, it's all relative, isn't it? My point was that lead pollution from
discarded electronics is a serious problem. If you live here in West
Oakland, then you're going to be more concerned about getting asthma
from all the trucks going in and out of the Port of Oakland.


--
"In 1964 Barry Goldwater declared: 'Elect me president, and I
will bomb the cities of Vietnam, defoliate the jungles, herd the
population into concentration camps and turn the country into a
wasteland.' But Lyndon Johnson said: 'No! No! No! Don't you dare do
that. Let ME do it.'"

- Characterization (paraphrased) of the 1964 Goldwater/Johnson
presidential race by Professor Irwin Corey, "The World's Foremost
Authority."

spake thus:

For an excellent resource for connecting people who have usable items
they don't want with people who would like to have them, check out
www.freecycle.org. It's set up as a way to keep things out of
landfills, when possible.

Don't want to rain on your parade, but no, it's not an excellent
resource, at least from my experience. It seems to be full of messages
from nice, well-intentioned middle-class folks who are concerned about
finding a good home for the rest of that package of paper plates, or
whatever. It is available, but be prepared for disappointment. (Plus, I
don't care for the way it's implemented as a whole bunch of Google
groups, but that's a different complaint.)


--
"In 1964 Barry Goldwater declared: 'Elect me president, and I
will bomb the cities of Vietnam, defoliate the jungles, herd the
population into concentration camps and turn the country into a
wasteland.' But Lyndon Johnson said: 'No! No! No! Don't you dare do
that. Let ME do it.'"

- Characterization (paraphrased) of the 1964 Goldwater/Johnson
presidential race by Professor Irwin Corey, "The World's Foremost
Authority."

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
spake thus:

For an excellent resource for connecting people who have usable items
they don't want with people who would like to have them, check out
www.freecycle.org. It's set up as a way to keep things out of
landfills, when possible.

Don't want to rain on your parade, but no, it's not an excellent resource,
at least from my experience. It seems to be full of messages from nice,
well-intentioned middle-class folks who are concerned about finding a good
home for the rest of that package of paper plates, or whatever. It is
available, but be prepared for disappointment. (Plus, I don't care for the
way it's implemented as a whole bunch of Google groups, but that's a
different complaint.)

It is what it is. I have two TV's, a cordless phone and a couple of other
things - all saved from the waste stream.

"Beloved Leader" wrote in message
The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal
recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to
stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a
mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking.

There are some silly laws that say once something is in the dump, it must
stay there. Our town used to have an area where you could put unwanted
stuff for others to take, but no more.

On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 02:58:39 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


"Beloved Leader" wrote in message
The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal
recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to
stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a
mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking.

There are some silly laws that say once something is in the dump, it must
stay there. Our town used to have an area where you could put unwanted
stuff for others to take, but no more.

Our town periodically has special drop-off days at the recycling
facility for discarded TVs & other electronic devices.

Aspasia

On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 22:34:33 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:


[...]

. If I saw a nice open reel tape deck,
I'd try as hard as I could to grab it and run.

I have a killer 3-head 3-motor SONY open-reel tape deck
that I'm going to put on Craig's List (along with a ton of free
tapes). A real classic. If you're anywhere near Santa Monica CA,
maybe you're interested? For money, not love.

Aspasia

" wrote:

For an excellent resource for connecting people who have usable items
they don't want with people who would like to have them, check out
www.freecycle.org. It's set up as a way to keep things out of
landfills, when possible.


Freecycle is great, if your local group isn't fully moderated and
operated by Nazis.

The local group is run that way. The moderators kick people off left
and right, for breaking their latest unwritten rules. If you get
multiple requests for something, no matter who you choose, they object
to your choice. Its supposed to go to the first request. Its to go to
the person who needs it the most. Its supposed to go to someone who
checks the list once a month, then complains she has never received
anything from the group, even though it was picked up two weeks before
she replied to the offer. You can't give it to someone who gives lots of
things away, because they can't possibly need it, and on and on.

I gave away a lot of stuff, and got some computer scrap, but when I
asked if anyone had any empty ink cartridges so I could refill the to
test a couple printers, I was banned for life. Then I got several nasty
e-mails from the two moderators who accused me of everything but being
white. They made threats, and accused me of having a flea market
business and selling over 100 working computers that I supposedly
received through the group. I am 100% disabled, and get to the flea
market about twice a year. Just be careful.

There is no Craig's list for my area, but I am trying to get enough
people to request it.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

James Sweet wrote:

Beloved Leader wrote:
Michael Black wrote:


And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced
the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like
that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim
something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off
something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought
home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items,
at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection.


Alexandria, Virginia, 50 miles to the southwest of the original poster,
prefers that "obsolete" computer equipment be turned in at the toxic
waste dump (as I call it), which is open one day per week. They have a
huge dumpster, open so that you can walk in, that slowly fills with
CPUs, printers, and monitors. In addition, people throw in old stereo
equipment and TV sets. When the coast is clear and no one is looking,
sometimes I help myself to an occasional goody. Usually I can recover a
toner cartridge or a needed cable. If I saw a nice open reel tape deck,
I'd try as hard as I could to grab it and run.

The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal
recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to
stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a
mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking.

I have seen one of those full dumpsters being hauled away. It was an
absolute heap of electronics, all headed off for destruction.


You can easily intercept a lot of good stuff if you post on craigslist
asking for free broken electronics. I used to pick up loads of good
stuff but eventually I had far too many projects and no need for any
more electronics.


The same with some thrift stores. I make regular pickups from three
local stores, every other week.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

"Beloved Leader" wrote in message
The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal
recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to
stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a
mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking.

There are some silly laws that say once something is in the dump, it must
stay there. Our town used to have an area where you could put unwanted
stuff for others to take, but no more.


You can thank the lawyers for that. Someone drags something home,
gets hurt, then sues the owner of the dump.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
...

Freecycle is great, if your local group isn't fully moderated and
operated by Nazis.

The local group is run that way. The moderators kick people off left
and right, for breaking their latest unwritten rules. If you get
multiple requests for something, no matter who you choose, they object
to your choice. Its supposed to go to the first request. Its to go to
the person who needs it the most. Its supposed to go to someone who
checks the list once a month, then complains she has never received
anything from the group, even though it was picked up two weeks before
she replied to the offer. You can't give it to someone who gives lots of
things away, because they can't possibly need it, and on and on.

Tried complaining to the main group: ??

Homer J Simpson spake thus:

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...

spake thus:

For an excellent resource for connecting people who have usable items
they don't want with people who would like to have them, check out
www.freecycle.org. It's set up as a way to keep things out of
landfills, when possible.

Don't want to rain on your parade, but no, it's not an excellent resource,
at least from my experience. It seems to be full of messages from nice,
well-intentioned middle-class folks who are concerned about finding a good
home for the rest of that package of paper plates, or whatever. It is
available, but be prepared for disappointment. (Plus, I don't care for the
way it's implemented as a whole bunch of Google groups, but that's a
different complaint.)

It is what it is. I have two TV's, a cordless phone and a couple of other
things - all saved from the waste stream.

Did you get all that from Freecycle?


--
"In 1964 Barry Goldwater declared: 'Elect me president, and I
will bomb the cities of Vietnam, defoliate the jungles, herd the
population into concentration camps and turn the country into a
wasteland.' But Lyndon Johnson said: 'No! No! No! Don't you dare do
that. Let ME do it.'"

- Characterization (paraphrased) of the 1964 Goldwater/Johnson
presidential race by Professor Irwin Corey, "The World's Foremost
Authority."

On 17 Oct 2006 21:05:03 GMT, (Michael Black)
wrote:



I've never tossed something that is intact.

Neither have I, but I am 59 and I've reached my limit. I have twelve
12" tv's, half color and have black and white, that I have tried or
will try to fix, and about twelve 19" tvs, all color, that I haven't
tried to fix yet but will give them maybe an hour each. But now I
have 3 more than I can use 19 inch that work, all from the trash. In
the last couple years, most that I have found still work.

And last week I found a 24 or 25 inch model. So far it only gets 2, 4
(DC), 11, 13, and 24, but that's using the autofinder. I have to set
a remote to try other stations we have, and if it gets them all, or
even channel 3, I'll use all my strength and get it down to the
basement. It must be fairly old, or maybe it is because of the
picture tube, because it is heavier than other recent 19inch tv's, and
bulky, and I have ready dropped the thing once, breaking the plastic
things the back is screwed to. But I can glue that together well
enough.

But I'm not taking it downstairs until I know it works, so it has been
on the front sidewalk covered by a blue mesh tarp for the last 8 days.

Anyhow, what is the point of fixing tv's that I don't need and will be
almost obsolete in 2? years. (Almost because I'm not buying 7 new
tv's and there won't be any on the sidewalk for a few years, so I'm
going to buy one adapter and use one central place for tuning all the
tv's.

And I can't strip them because I'm out of room for storing such parts.
So 24 tv's or more are going to go out pretty much in one piece during
the next 4 months. Plus I have a small xerox machine that according
to the paperwork I found with it, the previous owner didn't want to
pay to have it fixed, and I don't think I can. And a big but light
laser printer that needs a new heater, that I got for free or under 5
dollars, and it wasn't worth fixing.

But then I want the parts
myself. So I will strip a bad hard drive down, get the magnets out of it,
and the metal from them goes to metal recycling. This is not even some
great skill, if people can screw together an Ikea table, they can strip
down their computer before tossing.

But they won't. This is why I'm pretty sure the trash man will still
take tv's, because for a lot of people, it will be an incredible chore
to go to this one place in central baltimore county, 20 or 30 miles
from where some people live.

But then there's an interesting point. If I come across a computer waiting
for the garbage, if it's intact (and of interest), I'd make the effort to
bring it home.

I do that too. So far the fastest I've gotten was 200 MHz, but it was
a Dell also and I wanted one for a particular reason.

But the more that's been stripped, the less likely I
will. I may take parts, if anything interesting remains. A complete
unit might find someone who can fix it or make use of it (a lot of
electronics is tossed for reasons other than it's broken), but a stripped
unit won't.

And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced
the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like
that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim
something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off
something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought
home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items,
at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection.
Yet I imagine there is much that can't find a market, because it's old
or obscure, the sorts of things I'd really like to come across. The rest
is likely stripped, but again, I wonder if they seek the hard to reuse
things like the gold on connectors, rather than the parts themselves.

I just want to get a 1" x 1 1/2" x 1/4" plastic piece that says
Kenmore on it, from a refrigerator at the waste disposal place, but I
haven't found one yet. I knocked the piece off and it should be on
the floor in my kitchen somewhere, but I haven't found it yet. If I
order the part, it will probably be 325 dollars.


Michael


Remove NOPSAM to email me..

On 17 Oct 2006 14:45:42 -0700, "Beloved Leader"
wrote:


Michael Black wrote:

And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced
the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like
that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim
something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off
something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought
home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items,
at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection.

Alexandria, Virginia, 50 miles to the southwest of the original poster,
prefers that "obsolete" computer equipment be turned in at the toxic
waste dump (as I call it), which is open one day per week. They have a
huge dumpster, open so that you can walk in, that slowly fills with
CPUs, printers, and monitors. In addition, people throw in old stereo
equipment and TV sets. When the coast is clear and no one is looking,
sometimes I help myself to an occasional goody. Usually I can recover a
toner cartridge or a needed cable. If I saw a nice open reel tape deck,
I'd try as hard as I could to grab it and run.

The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal
recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to
stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a
mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking.

I agree with you.

I once told the story of drivign down 2nd Avenue in NYC, somewhere in
the 20's and seeing a big (though only 5 or 6 foot high dumpster full
of books.

There were about 6 guys inside gathering books, plus I joined them of
course. All hardback, on every subject. There were 3 kinds of
people, those who would get in for a while, those who would just walk
by, and those who would stand outside once in a while pointing to a
book and asking someone to get it for them. How they could see the
title on a hardback book with no dust cover, I don't know.

I got about 20 or 25 books the first day, and I went back 2 out of the
next 4 days. The level of books kept getting lower. There must have
been 20,000 to start, and maybe 10,000 when I stopped going. But they
were probably adding more books every day also. (I had to come from
Brooklyn.) The weather was beautiful every day. New Yorkers are used
to finding good stuff in the trash, because most aparatments are small
and even in the 70's people couldnt even keep a broken 12 inch tv
waiting for a time to fix it. No room.

I got about 35 books in total.

I have seen one of those full dumpsters being hauled away. It was an
absolute heap of electronics, all headed off for destruction.


Remove NOPSAM to email me..

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...

It is what it is. I have two TV's, a cordless phone and a couple of other
things - all saved from the waste stream.

Did you get all that from Freecycle?

Yes. I only need the TV's to last a year. A lot of people are junking them
for plasma etc.

On 17 Oct 2006 06:36:10 -0700 wrote in Message id:
. com:

I see no reason why the plastic and occasional metal casings can't be
recycled. The rest can go into an incinerator.

Somehow, the thought of incinerating lead does not make me comfortable.
Not to mention the toxic gases from the electronic bits.

JW wrote:

On 17 Oct 2006 06:36:10 -0700 wrote in Message id:
. com:

I see no reason why the plastic and occasional metal casings can't be
recycled. The rest can go into an incinerator.

Somehow, the thought of incinerating lead does not make me comfortable.
Not to mention the toxic gases from the electronic bits.


Printed circuit boards have been burnt to recover the metals in EPA
licensed ovens for decades. The metal vapor condenses in the stack,
then the metals are separated chemically. A Japanese company has a
patent for a process that shreds scrap fiberglass PC boards, then
dissolves the metals in acid. The scrap fiberglass is washed, and mixed
with raw fiberglass to make things like sinks and bathtubs.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 06:18:22 -0400, JW wrote:

On 17 Oct 2006 06:36:10 -0700 wrote in Message id:
.com:

I see no reason why the plastic and occasional metal casings can't be
recycled. The rest can go into an incinerator.

Somehow, the thought of incinerating lead does not make me comfortable.
Not to mention the toxic gases from the electronic bits.

There isn't much in the universe that couldn't be recycled
if you could figure out a convenient way to separate it
from other bits.

On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 02:58:39 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


"Beloved Leader" wrote in message
The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal
recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to
stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a
mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking.

There are some silly laws that say once something is in the dump, it must
stay there. Our town used to have an area where you could put unwanted
stuff for others to take, but no more.

I suspect that this is a regulation, not a law.
And it's probably because the people running the
dump are absolutely convinced that some ****head
is going to haul a gas-powered appliance out of the
dump, cut their finger, have the appliance blow
up, (explaining why it was in the dump in the
first place) and then sue them.

What you need to do is set up a non-profit junkyard.

David Nebenzahl wrote:

It is what it is. I have two TV's, a cordless phone and a couple of
other things - all saved from the waste stream.

Did you get all that from Freecycle?

In my neighborhood, we have "heavy trash" pickup once a month. I call it
"foraging night." In addition to a shop-vac, a recliner, and other goodies,
my prize is a WW2 jerry can. It's a military five-gallon gas can and is in
perfect shape. What makes this one so neat is the stencil on the bottom:

09-44 IIIArmy

You can Google for the exploits of the US 3rd Army in September 1944. This
very gas can may have helped liberate the 101st Airborne at Bastonge in
December 1944. Who knows?

HeyBub wrote:

David Nebenzahl wrote:

It is what it is. I have two TV's, a cordless phone and a couple of
other things - all saved from the waste stream.

Did you get all that from Freecycle?

In my neighborhood, we have "heavy trash" pickup once a month. I call it
"foraging night." In addition to a shop-vac, a recliner, and other goodies,
my prize is a WW2 jerry can. It's a military five-gallon gas can and is in
perfect shape. What makes this one so neat is the stencil on the bottom:

09-44 IIIArmy

You can Google for the exploits of the US 3rd Army in September 1944. This
very gas can may have helped liberate the 101st Airborne at Bastonge in
December 1944. Who knows?


Not very likely. Most of the low cost types of equipment was left
behind because it cost more to bring it back, than the cost to replace
it. It was probably being readied to be shipped overseas and never made
it. Millions of dollars worth of military gear was sold for pennies on
the dollar at the end of WW II, because they no longer needed it, and
the cost to build warehouses for long term storage would have cost more
than it was worth.


--
My sig file can beat up your sig file!