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Desktops (Apple) Businesses Apple Hardware

Metech Offers to Recycle Your Mac 60

Posted by pudge from the cheaper-still-is-as-a-paperweight dept.
Rosyna writes "Apple now allows the general public to recycle their Apple branded computers. It only costs thirty US dollars, too. The dumpster is still cheaper. More details at Apple's page and Metech's page."
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Metech Offers to Recycle Your Mac More

Metech Offers to Recycle Your Mac

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  • Anti-Abuse measures? (Score:3, Funny)

    by TwistedKestrel ( 550054 ) <twistedkestrel@gmail.com> on Friday February 28, 2003 @05:33PM (#5409453) Journal
    Hopefully they have a system where if you try to recycle anything PPC class or newer, they send some burly men to your office door to give you a good going over.

  • Value (Score:4, Insightful)

    by p4ul13 ( 560810 ) on Friday February 28, 2003 @05:33PM (#5409459) Homepage
    Why would anybody need this? Macs retain their value so well.....

    I plan on hanging onto my G4 for quite a while.

    • Nobody's talking about recycling G4's. I hope.

      I have an old Classic that I can't think of any usefull (computing) application for. OTOH, if I had a Quadra or somesuch around, I'd slap BSD on it and add it to the collection. The toolshed still has no computer.

      • but classics take up so little space! not to mention being design classics ;) turn it into a fishtank or something.

        here at work (a Mac-only school) most of the old Classics have been recycled into anything from doorstops to picture frames and they look kinda cool, though it's worth pointing out that until this summer at least one was still in active service running the video notice board in the main lobby (that job is now handled by an old powerbook)

  • recycle? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ChristTrekker ( 91442 ) on Friday February 28, 2003 @05:37PM (#5409490)

    People would recycle Macs? Why? I've never seen one actually wear out. I'm using a 13-y.o. SE/30 running NetBSD at home. My 10-y.o. Centris 650 still boots, and I'm donating it. That's recycling. My main machine is 5 now, and will probably serve me another 2 years before I can upgrade, and then it will probably become a file server in a corner somewhere, or another donor/loaner.

    You don't throw it out unless it's dead. And with Macs that takes awhile.

    • People have developed this way of thinking...that macs do not die. That every single one keeps running forever and PCs die in 5 years. I'm not sure where it comes from. I've seen my share of fried macs (and ones that are still running after 15 years) and I've seen the same from PCs. I have two 386s and a 486 in my closet, and they both still work perfectly. Positive stereotyping.

  • Instead of paying $30... (Score:5, Funny)

    by handsomepete ( 561396 ) on Friday February 28, 2003 @05:42PM (#5409529) Journal
    ...why not take advantage of the very lucrative used Mac business? Sell it. These things are like freakin Hondas.

  • Why recycle any mac? (Score:5, Informative)

    by 90XDoubleSide ( 522791 ) <ninetyxdoublesid ... minus herbivore> on Friday February 28, 2003 @05:46PM (#5409554)
    I question not only why you would recycle a newer Mac, buy why you would recycle any Apple machine at all. An Apple II, circa 1976, goes for $50-$100 on eBay! If you're actually paying someone to take your machine, there's somthing seriously wrong.

  • Apple products break? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28, 2003 @05:52PM (#5409598)
    Seriously, I have an Apple IIc, IIgs, Mac Plus, IIci, Centris 610, rev.A iMac, slot-loading iMac, iBook, LaserWriter .. all working perfectly.

    The older machines had a little "gunk" in the keyboards, but I took them apart and bathed them in Tune-O-Wash (a deadly toxic solvent that every geek should own a can of) and now they are just as crisp as they were when new.

    After a few years the bondi blue iMac developed a shorted flyback and a busted fan, but I tracked down the parts and replaced them. I think that has something to do with the fact I bought it the day it came out, and they hadn't worked out the kinks yet. Works great as an wireless MP3 player when combined with a wireless bridge.

    If I get rid of these machines it will be on eBay or to a local charity, not recycle.

  • Cheaper? For _you_, maybe. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by melquiades ( 314628 ) on Friday February 28, 2003 @06:04PM (#5409724) Homepage
    The dumpster is still cheaper.

    Sure, for the person who's throwing the computer away. But the long-term costs in human health and environmental damage are high ... or at least, if you could put a monetary value on them, I'm guessing it would be more than $30.

    The trick is that there's no simple way to pass these costs back to the person who puts the computer in the dumpster. [Insert treatise on externalities here.] If you're feeling socially responsible, it's still better to recycle, and far better still to put that old machine to work in some extraodinarily geeky project which will later be featured on Slashdot.

    (Speaking of which, has anybody got Linux to run on an Apple ][+ with 48k of ram yet?)
    • The simple way is to put a $30 tax on the initial purcahes of a new computer.

      Why should someone who holds on to a machine for a long time subsidise those whose dick goes limp if his machine is 6 months old?

      • Re:Cheaper? For _you_, maybe. (Score:5, Interesting)

        by bedouin ( 248624 ) on Friday February 28, 2003 @07:23PM (#5410316)
        The simple way is to put a $30 tax on the initial purcahes of a new computer.

        Except, why should everyday consumers be the ones paying this $30 tax? The way I see it, the huge businesses throwing away 1000 486's along with CRT's, or the workers who take them home and then throw them out (initially thinking they got a great deal) are the real ones polluting.

        How about this: all businesses or government institutions buying X quantity of computers are required to pay a recycling tax based on how many computers purchased. These computers are then given stickers, certifying them to be recyclable at certain centers. If in the event the business sells this computer to an employee, he or she can always return these machines to be recycled at no charge. I don't think the average consumer should be the one paying for this.

        As for my old computers, they've usually been A) put to some other use, B) given away, C) Sold to someone else, or D) Put in my garage. I've yet to just toss one in the trash.

        • Re:Cheaper? For _you_, maybe. (Score:4, Insightful)

          by melquiades ( 314628 ) on Saturday March 01, 2003 @10:59AM (#5413061) Homepage
          Except, why should everyday consumers be the ones paying this $30 tax? The way I see it, the huge businesses throwing away 1000 486's along with CRT's, or the workers who take them home and then throw them out (initially thinking they got a great deal) are the real ones polluting.

          Ummmmmm ... you should pay this $30 tax because you've purchased something that will, sooner or later, be an environmental hazard. If you're a sensible and/or moderate person who only buys one computer every four years, you only pay $30 every four years. If you're a big corporation that buys 1000 CRTs, you pay $30000 for that. Seems fair to me.

          The $30 figure here is open for debate -- as is the decision of whether the fee goes at purchase time or discard time (probably the former is easier to enforce, but the latter captures the actual cost better), or even directly to the manufacturer. The point is, it should be in the chain somewhere, in a uniform way for everyone, much as the costs of raw materials are in the chain now. If you introduce something into the space of economic concerns, the market should theoretically react to it. [Insert treatise on tort law here. And possibly refer to somebody who actually knows something about economics.]
          • Ummmmmm ... you should pay this $30 tax because you've purchased something that will, sooner or later, be an environmental hazard.

            Please say things that are true next time. Thanks.
          • The $30 is just shipping, guys. It's not a tax or a fee. For $30 they send a box to your house with the Fed Ex label already on it and filled out. You put the system in the box and call Fed Ex and they pick it up and you are done being socially conscious for the day.

            They are recycling it for free. All you have to do is pay $30 to ship it to them. Apparently 95% of the components will be diverted from landfill.
        • Do you actually have any idea how much Corporations pay to have the computers thrown away? 1000 desktops don't fit in a dustbin...
          They have to pay the suppliers (Dell, Compaq, etc) to take back the old computers. If I remember properly, this fee was around 30$-50$. Most companies will find it cheaper to donate the computer to local schools, charities or the like.

          Same for you, you should recycle what you buy. Someone else doesn't pay for you to recycle your bottles, plastics and paper. You consume, you pay.

          However, before you have to do that, though, give it away. You might even get tax credits! And you'll be helping out too...
          If you want to recycle, try the Dell Exchange program [dell.com], they'll give you a 10% rebate on Software or peripherals. They can even handlee donations for you. Need anymore hand holding? ;-)

          • Same for you, you should recycle what you buy. Someone else doesn't pay for you to recycle your bottles, plastics and paper. You consume, you pay.

            In Quebec, Canada, you pay $0.05 for every can and plastic soda bottle you buy, and $0.10 for every beer bottle. You get this money back when you return the bottle for re-use/recycling. I don't know how many other places have similar programs, but if I find a bottle on the street and recycle it, someone is indeed paying me to recycle.. Less litter on the streets, a little more cash for kids, and less waste.

  • NO! (Score:5, Funny)

    by susehat ( 558997 ) on Friday February 28, 2003 @06:56PM (#5410118)
    no, please use the dumpster BIG SMILE! hey, how do you think I got my 7 perfectly working classic macs? I got them from the trash. that and a beautiful motorolla clone 4000, a good machine i might add. so, keep tossing 'em out!. hehehe.

  • dumpsters not an option (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The dumpster is still cheaper.

    Hate to be a bleeding heart tree-hugger about this, but this is a pretty irresponsible statement. Computer hardware should never be thrown out, always recycled.

    Besides, who would ever dispose of their Mac, even a dead one? Me, I'll save my $30 and have a cool-looking doorstop when the time comes.

  • Sad mac bomb (Score:5, Insightful)

    by babbage ( 61057 ) <cdeversNO@SPAMcis.usouthal.edu> on Friday February 28, 2003 @07:01PM (#5410162) Homepage Journal
    In spite of about every other post so far, Macs *do* die from time to time.

    I've got an rev. b iMac (the almost-original bondi blue style) with a dead monitor. As near as I can tell the electronics are all fine, but without a working display it won't boot. I'd love to get it running again, minimallly as a "hidden in the closet" server, or better still by finding someone with another dead iMac with a working display where I could merge the parts together into one working machine.

    But since just fixing it doesn't seem feasible (a new CRT has been quoted to me for around $500, so that's not an option), and I haven't been able to find anyone for the "franken-mac" idea, my fiance has been trying to get me to throw it away instead, and sooner or later I'm sure she'll have her way on this one.

    If it comes to that though, rather than toss it in the trash, I'd rather pay a service like this to recycle it if I could -- the toxins in modern PCs are *nasty* and worth trying to recycle or dispose of properly. Tossing it in a dumpster really isn't the best idea, as a major recent reports (and several related news articles) have highlighted:

    There's a reason that the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle" has the terms in that order. It's better to re-collect the production materials to be used in new products than to throw things away & need more raw resources, but it's better to stretch out the lifespan of existing products before giving them up for scrap at all. Even beyond that through, it's better to consume less at the outset than to stretch out the life of things that you maybe didn't need *or* recycle.

    So yeah, it's better to reuse that old working Mac, but when the time comes to give it up -- and that time *will* come, sooner or later -- then it's better to dispose of it responsibly. Recycling isn't necessarily a very clean option, as the report in that last URL illustrates, so the longer you can avoid that the better.

    And if anyone in the Boston area has an old iMac with, say, a dead motherboard, let me know :-)

    • Re:Sad mac bomb (Score:4, Informative)

      by FueledByRamen ( 581784 ) <sabretooth@gmail.com> on Friday February 28, 2003 @08:12PM (#5410574)
      If you want to run a headless iMac, you could just pop the drive from it into another (similar) Mac, throw a VNC Server app in the startup menu, make sure it launches on boot, and put the drive back in the iMac. Simple enough.

      Also, I read a site a while back about someone who had a similar problem to you - an iMac (don't remember the rev) with a dead CRT - he installed a video card in it somehow. Try googling for it.
    • You could always buy one of these [ebay.com].

    • Re:Sad mac bomb (Score:2, Informative)

      by Blackstealth ( 558566 )
      I've got an rev. b iMac (the almost-original bondi blue style) with a dead monitor. As near as I can tell the electronics are all fine, but without a working display it won't boot. I'd love to get it running again, minimallly as a "hidden in the closet" server, or better still by finding someone with another dead iMac with a working display where I could merge the parts together into one working machine.

      Rev. A-D iMacs (all the tray-loaders) can be fitted up with an ATX PSU (or keep their existing supply) and be connected to an external monitor pretty easily - As long as you don't mind transplanting parts into a generic case.

      If you open the machine up, you may just be able to connect an Apple monitor to the logic board, the first few revisions used a standard Apple monitor connection for the CRT.

      Can't remember a precise link at the moment, but have a hunt round on the Applefritter forums [applefritter.com] for further details.

    • Re:Sad mac bomb (Score:3, Interesting)

      by call -151 ( 230520 )
      An iMac with a dead CRT is not so bad- if you open the thing up, you will see a std video connector in there and can hang a monitor off of it. I remember in 1998 doing this (out of curiousity) and driving a nice 21" monitor at a reasonable resolution (playing Nanosaur...). I can't remember what res the video was able to drive the monitor at, but it was definitely more than it could drive the internal CRT. If you want to run it headless, you may be able to hang a monitor off of it to get it set up, then disconnect it. As always, careful around the internal CRT...
    • It's probably an analog board that needs replacing. That eventually goes on all of the original-shape iMacs.

      -fp

    • Rack mount case (Score:3, Informative)

      by pherris ( 314792 )
      I've got an rev. b iMac (the almost-original bondi blue style) with a dead monitor. As near as I can tell the electronics are all fine, but without a working display it won't boot. I'd love to get it running again, minimallly as a "hidden in the closet" server, or better still by finding someone with another dead iMac with a working display where I could merge the parts together into one working machine.

      But since just fixing it doesn't seem feasible (a new CRT has been quoted to me for around $500, so that's not an option), and I haven't been able to find anyone for the "franken-mac" idea, my fiance has been trying to get me to throw it away instead, and sooner or later I'm sure she'll have her way on this one.

      Your iMac seems a good candidate for a transplant to a Marathon iRack 1U case [marathoncomputer.com] (the $400 price tag, IMO, seems too much but the reviews are very good). Also there's the 1U rack mount case conversion [pointinspace.com] ($40 for instructions but claims that the conversion costs are $50).

      Plus the empty case would make a nice macquarium [theapplecollection.com]

    • i was a tech at a mac shop about the time of when these were the sellers... sounds like a bad av board, should be ~100 now adays, and takes about an hour to do.

    • Re:Sad mac bomb (Score:3, Interesting)

      by OrangeHairMan ( 560161 )
      If the only thing wrong is the monitor, and you're willing to invest a bit, then just buy the iRack [marathoncomputer.com] (watch out though, the US might try to DDoS it...), and put it in your rack in the closet...

      Or rip out it's guts, copy the iRack's install guide [marathoncomputer.com], and install all the parts on a piece of plywood...

      Or, as another poster said, rip out the drive, install VNC, then put the drive back in...

      Also, I know that thay there is something that looks suspiciously like a VGA port and does connect suspiciously near the monitor on the motherboard of my Rev A iMac...

      Or you could buy the iPort [griffintechnology.com] from Griffin Technology that adds a serial port and video out to your Rev A or Rev B iMac for only $60...

      Or, as a last dich effort, you could rip out the guts, and make an aquarium [mmug.net]....

      Or you could send it to me, I'm in the Boston area and would love an old iMac to do the above with... ;)

      Seriously, there are so many posibilities. I'm sure with the above you can make the iMac a nice file server. Or whatever.

      Orange

  • AppleVision Monitors (Score:3, Funny)

    by bobrk ( 62170 ) on Friday February 28, 2003 @07:48PM (#5410457)
    Need I say more?
    • Err... yes. You do need to say more. Because, frankly, a lot of us out here have precisely no idea what you are talking about.
    • My 1710 has borked itself more times than I can count. The deflector shields (I thought the guy was making some kind of lame excuse to get me out of the shop at first) have gone on it (later repaired), and now it gives me an ADB error every time on startup.

      It is a kickass-looking monitor, though. Nice and sharp and clean. If only the ADB ports on it weren't so iffy. I'd buy another one in an instant.
  • Probably one of the best uses for old Macs (if you are a Mac true believer) is to turn it into a web/FTP server. Outfit that sucker with a fast ethernet card, throw some Apache software on there and get a static IP address. Do anything besides throw it away! And who in their right mind would pay someone to recycle it? The cases alone are worth at least $30.00.

  • Ignorance (Score:2, Insightful)

    by belg4mit ( 152620 )
    The dumpster is *not* cheaper.
    Because somebody is going to
    have to monitor the groundwater,
    cleanup the site...

  • Idiot (Score:5, Insightful)

    by psyconaut ( 228947 ) on Friday February 28, 2003 @11:26PM (#5411302)
    "The dumpster is cheaper"

    Not only is it unethical, it's also ILLEGAL in many places to do that. And in some places, can even come with relatively stiff penalties that will definitely be more than $30 if you get caught.

    Plus...there are lots of not-for-profits that'll gladly recycle your machine for use...even come and pick it up, and somebody gets to benefit from it. This is "as cheap" as the dumpster and does someone some good.

    Or maybe you're just a silly dumpster troll?
  • I want to build a retro Mac. A 970 - when they will come out - inside an old Quadra. Does anyone have an old Quadra tower that looks OK outside and that is useless for you? Don't think about throwing it away - donate it for me [a poor partially occupied geek]. Even if it does not work. I'll save you those 30 $ trashing fee, and you can be sure your old Mac will find a good home. :)
  • If it doesn't work, just put it in the wrong place at the right time, in the right neighborhood. A small cardboard sign that says "$30 w/o mouse/keyboard" stuck on the monitor would be a nice touch.
  • The dumpster is cheaper?

    True.

    Until you factor in any court costs/missed work/other expenses that come from you tossing a CRT into the trash.

    What?

    Yeah, that's right--in many states, if not most, it's illegal to just throw out CRTs. In some states it's a violation of hazardous waste disposal laws.

    (Any Apple service provider will tell you that the proper way to dispose of a CRT is "within accordance of local hazardous waste disposal laws".)

    -/-
    Mikey-San

  • Mac Recycling (Score:3, Informative)

    by zafo ( 654378 ) on Saturday March 01, 2003 @07:09AM (#5412489)
    City of Austin, Texas will recycle any computer for free if you take it to their recycling center. Macs do have amazing longetivity, but I've seen a lot of old (1984-90) Macs at garage sales, and they are just not selling. I've upgraded a number of PPC models, though. I just found a new Sonnet 260 MHz G3 upgrade at a garage sale for my 7100/66AV.

    • Re:Mac Recycling (Score:3, Interesting)

      by imnoteddy ( 568836 )
      A buddy of mine who's an electrical engineer buys 'em all the time. He strips out the power supply
      and tosses the rest. Says the old Macs have great 5 volt power supplies, unlike the crappy supplies
      in PCs. He must be using a couple dozen in projects at his company.

      It is not the computer's fault that Maxwell's equations are not adequate to design the electric motor. - A. Perlis

  • ...give them to me, I'll put them to good use. I've got an old iMac that I run Linux on and play with, and I'm looking for more so I can play around and learn apache and other such things.

  • A WEEE problem in Europe (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Not long ago Apple mentioned a European Directive (WEEE) in a SEC filing concerning the safe disposal of electrical and electronic equipment in Europe and stated that it could have a substantial impact on its business. It looks like its using the US as a training ground to get it recycling ideas ready and iron out any kinks before the directive comes into force.

    At the moment we are in a transitional phase but in a few short years companies such as Apple will have to foot the bill for the safe disposal (including any logistical issues) of its equipment and estimates are (industry estimates not Apple's) that this could lead to a 1% increase in prices.

    The WEEE directive is a great read (googling 'WEEE' should bring something up) and a sign the the EU is going to get tough on this issue.

    I read the draft proposal sometime back and wholeheartedly agree with their stance on the issue.

  • Why use a dumpster? (Score:4, Funny)

    by speechpoet ( 562513 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @02:05PM (#5419182) Homepage Journal
    I just drag mine to the Trash.
  • Back a long time ago when those little b&w screens were state-of-the-art there was a company which built portable Macintoshes. The only problem was that they couldn't get a license to make their own ROMs with the BIOS, so if you wanted one of these portables you had to pry the ROMs out of your genuiwine Mac and have them installed in the portable.

    I've no idea if the same issues apply today, but it's an interesting possibility.
  • Instead of paying $30 to ship your mac off to be recycled, why don't you pay $25 in shipping and send it to me? I'd especially like to recycle one of those g4's for you.
  • Maybe this announcement follows the success and high demand from the refurbished store, hmmm. http://promo.euro.apple.com/promo/refurb/uk/
  • I didn't read the article at all (that would go against what slashdot stands for right?) - but I think they should:
    1) charge money to take it back (they already do)
    2) build up a network of clustered Macs to make a big supercomputer
    3) charge users for time running apps on this cluster (the applications that run on supercomputers would be pretty limited, but also means limited to the groups that are willing to pay $$$)

    That would mean that they have to ship in the computers, so that would take a chunk (if not all) that that $30 fee.
    Then would have to build a network to cluster then - likely gigabit if not fiber - does Dolphin do Mac networking?
    I don't know of a Mosix/OpenMosix for the PowerPC world, so it would have to be a Beowulf style.

    They would make money off of the collection and the use of the system, but would have to spend in order to supply power, AC, and keeping track of the network.

    This is something that would have a range of usefulness (profitablity) and then would eventually hit a point where it no longer scaled correctly and they would spend too much to maintain it.
    To avoid that, they could cycle computerrs in and out of the network. As they get faster computers being turned in, they can swap out the crappier systems that are part of the cluster.

    blah blah blah - anyways - just something that popped into mind when I saw that they were getting machines for free, and getting money on top of that (like I said, not sure how much of that money goes towards shipping).

    Once they use them in the cluster, then they could actually recycle them like they say.

    Not to mention all of the stuff that they could strip off of the drives that are coming in.

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