Here’s how to get rid of your “technotrash”
My old partner Randy was one of those guys who never threw anything out. As a result, our production company had a lot of…well, interesting is a good word…interesting stuff cluttering up the place. Laser disc players, a couple of broken reel-to-reel 1/2″ VCR’s, some hopelessly antique cameras and camcorders…he had so much of this technojunk that we finally built him a large storage space -”Randy’s Room” -filled corner to corner with sturdy steel shelving. I was down at Great Lakes Video the other day and -guess what -even though he’s not with the operation any more, Randy’s Room remains, securely locked and apparently still loaded. Sort of like Al Capone’s vault. Who knows what treasures lurk inside?
Well, Randy isn’t alone. Old computers, camcorder, motherboards, broken audio boards and switchers, cell phones, CDs, jewel cases, old VHS tapes…we of the video production persuasion certainly can stack up the old equipment quickly.
As we move farther into the information age, the volume of obsolete computer equipment and supplies is becoming a serious problem that needs to be dealt with responsibly. Today, it’s estimated that over 90 percent of technojunk is not being recycled. Some is thrown away, but most remains unused sitting on desks or taking up storage space.
You know what I’m getting at; I’m asking you to recycle your old broken and outmoded gear. There may be a local drop-off that legitimately recycles your equipment. If so, why not make a stop there part of your spring cleaning ritual?
Alas, many communities don’t have a good recycling point. If this is your case, I recommend an operation such as GreenDisk. You can use them to recycle ‘puters, iPods, MP3 players, cell phones and chargers, digital cameras, PDAs, palm pilots, and more. Also, easily recycle all of your CDs, jewel cases, DVDs, audio and video tapes, pagers, rechargeable and single-use batteries, PDAs, and ink/toner cartridges with GreenDisk’s Technotrash program. For $30, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of any of the above. Your fee covers the box as well as shipping and recycling fees.
Check ‘em out right here: www.GreenDisk.com
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May 2nd, 2008 at 3:26 am
What a great idea Steve - touched a real nerve here as we recently added more loft space and I felt marginally guilty trudging up the loft ladder with loads of old techno. Must be somewhere we too can usefully offload some stuff - job for the boys I think!