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APCUG Reports
October-December 2005

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15 Years of Recycling
by Don Bollenbacher, Huntsville PC Users Group

HPCUG has a Community Service Project involving a computer recycling program that has continued for about 15 years. The main justification of the programs is that the writer saw the value of even the earliest PC's to students who are disadvantaged either by economic or health reasons. These old computers can do word processing and that is a wonderful help to certain people. This writer surely could have used one when he was going to college 50 years ago. Keeping some of the old computers out of the land fill, at least for a while, has some environmental benefits.

Because of the size of the HPCUG Recycling Program, several other groups assist us by finding sources of used computers from individuals, companies, and schools. Boy Scout Troop 400 (an Inner City Troop) is heavily nvolved because transportation and space is needed for the computers.

Many computers are given to people in public housing. We have had gifts of over 100 computers at a time, although usually it is less than ten at a time. The Scoutmaster (Albert Farrrar) gives tax receipts for all donations, when requested. Scout Troop 400 has probably one of the largest facilities in the USA. We have several semi-trailers for storage and a building that we share with the Public Housing Community Group. Some of the Scouts are trained to fix computers and use them especially for tutorial school work. But this writer is the chief repair man when hardware requires complex repairs. Several members of HPCUG have taught me and assisted me in fixing the computers.

Technological Assistance for Special Consumers (TASC) has been a major player in the donations and use of these computers. TASC is a nonprofit group that uses computers who help clients who have handicaps. Filling the requests of TASC has been our highest priority.

We have also donated computers to the Alabama Institute of the Blind and Deaf (AIDB) and to college students with economic needs. We have sent computers to other states in the USA for those less fortunate.

When we obtain Mac hardware, we exchange it for PC hardware from an individual who recycles Mac's. The Kiwanis Club in Huntsville (Golden K) has donated over a hundred computers to us that they obtained from Redstone Federal Credit Union when they bought new computers.

Holy Spirit Catholic Church has been a large donor also. They had an interesting problem with their marginal air conditioning system. An investment of several thousands of dollars would have been required to upgrade their A/C system. But they exchanged their hot CRT's for low energy Flat Panel monitors. It is nice and cool in their Computer Lab now.

Another player in the HPCUG recycling Program is Al Norman. We do not keep records on what we recycle, but along with Al and myself, others in the HPCUG who have recycled many computers include Rod Rakes, Kevin Wangblickler, and Bob Russell.