Sharing Know How

I thought I would share some of the ways I looked at for disposing of an old computer recently.  Old computers can have a very negative environmental impact depending on the way they are thrown out.   I ended up using the first way listed below to get rid of my old computer.  An old slow computer for you may be a very useful and much appreaciated computer for someone else. “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure!”

OK, here’s the list…

1. Donate your old computer to a local charity. If you can’t find a local charity,  you can use this list at TechSoup to help you find worthy charities that accept old computers.

2. Try selling your computer on eBay! or through local classifieds (sometimes your local newspaper will allow provide you with a free listing for  items you are giving away).  You might be surprised at the number of people that want your computer!

3. Take advantage of manufacturers that will accept your old computer when you buy a new one.  Many companies such as Dell and HP will now recycle your old computer for free when you buy a new one from them.

4. Ask your friends or neighbors to see if they are looking for an older computer or might have a use for them. Some tech geeks use any extra computers then can get to help them look for alien life in space. (Not me of course!)

5. Put your computer on your front lawn on a dry Saturday during “Garage Sale Season” and place a sign saying “Free computer!”  You might also consider using Freecycle.org if it is available in your area.

6. Pay for a local technology recycling company to have your old computer taken off your hands and recycled responsibly.  You can find these recycling companies in the Yellowpages in most large cities.

**Remember to format (low-level format if you have a utility that can do it) your hard drive before using any of the above steps.  You don’t want any of your personal or financial information getting into the wrong hands! 

I started feeling guilty about throwing out single use batteries recently.  I have just finished changing to CFC Bulbs throughout the house, so my next target was the single use batteries we use in so many things.  We go through so many batteries these days, especially with two young boys in the house.  Almost every toy they have uses either AA or AAA batteries.  The toys also seem to use up the batteries within a matter of days (generally because the toys are not always turned off after being used).

 Finding good quality but cheap batteries was not as easy as I first though it might be.  I went to the local “we have everything at the lowest price” store and found that a pack of four AA batteries was going to set me back over $12.  That is over $3 per battery before the tax man adds to the price.  The only batteries they offered were Energizer and Duracell brands.  I figured these two brands would be the most expensive so I though I would look for something in the generic but not crap category. It turns out that none of the stores in my area carry anything but Duracell and Energizer batteries.  I guess the stores must love the generous mark up!

 Ebay has long been my friend for finding great things at fantastic prices.  But I thought that since the batteries are such a low priced item, that the shipping costs would make them almost the same price as buying them in the store.  Boy, was I wrong!  They have a huge selection of both brand name and generic rechargeable batteries at great prices, even when you include the shipping charges.

 I decided to look for batteries with the following qualities:

- brand new (don’t want older batteries that may have already been recharged many times)

- minimum 2500 mAH for AA and 1000 mAH for AAA rating for the batteries (This gives you and indication of how powerful and more importantly, how long each charge will last for the battery.  The higher the number, the better)

- no “memory effect” (Older batteries had this. The battery starts to hold less and less of a charge over time. Think portable phones from the 90’s!)

- Guaranteed to recharge at least 500 times.

- Need to be NiMH. (Nickel Metal Hydride. Ni-Cad and Alkaline both have the “Memory Effect” and will decline in power over time)

- Need to be less than $1 for each battery inlcuding shipping and taxes.

 Well, I found that many sellers on eBay! meet all of this criteria and then some.  So, I bought 12 AA and 12 AAA BTY(generic) batteries for just under $20.  For the non-math geeks out there, that is about $0.83 per battery.  That price is less than most brand name non-rechargeable batteries and just over the generic non-rechargeables. 

A note about buying from eBay!. 

eBay! is a very safe place to buy things and can also be entertainment.  The thrill of winning the bidding on an item, the satisfaction of getting a really low price for many things and the ability to get rid of so much junk that other people consider to be useful. 

Here are a few useful tips for buying on eBay!:

- look for sellers with higher number of feedback responses (this tells you that many people have bought items from this seller and wrote about their experience)

- look for sellers with greater than 99% positive feedback (this tells you that almost all or all of the items that the seller has sold were a positive experience for the customer)

- contact the seller if you have questions before you bid on the item

Click here for eBay!

Now, back to the rechargeable batteries topic…  I will update this post in a couple weeks when I have had a chance to test out the batteries.  Those toys the boys have can really put batteries to the test!