a proposal by

CODY FIKAC

PROPOSAL
RECYCLING
project
A COMPUTER RECYCLING PROPOSAL
FOR SOLUTIONARY PROJECT
 PROJECT OVERVIEW
OBJECTIVE
I want to do my part to help
keep electronic waste out of
landfills.
Electronic waste or e-waste
is a term used for electronic
products that are near or at
the end of their useful life.  - Bring equipment that cannot be
Instead of throwing it out
with the trash, many of these
products can be reused,
refurbished, or recycled.
My project will be based on
collecting old computer
equipment that can include
the CPU, monitor, keyboard,
mouse, personal printers,
and their power cords.  This
equipment will be donated to
Hawaiian Hope, a non-profit
organization that recycles
computers or to one of the
recycling agencies on island.
METHOD
- Interview someone from Hawaiian Hope
and someone from a recycling agency
about recycling and refurbishing
computers.
- Ask family and friends for computer
equipment that they no longer need.
- Collect old computer equipment.
- Bring equipment to Hawaiian Hope and
have them determine if the equipment
can be refurbished.
refurbished to a recycling agency.
SUMMARY
Besides performing the method above, i
will be volunteering to assist in
refurbishing computer equipment.
Project benefits will include the following:
- Some computer equipment will not be in
landfills.
- I will gain knowledge and experience to
continue recycling computers in the
future.
- When computers are refurbished,
Hawaiian Hope either sells them at a
cheap price to help with maintenance or
rental cost or they give them away for free
to people (especially kids) who could not
afford one otherwise.
Abstract
The amount of electronics in households has increased rapidly over the years but,
unfortunately, they do not last a long time. Due to changes in technology, whether it’s
software or hardware related, many devices become obsolete and are switched out for
newer, faster, or more secure models. So, what happens to the older equipment? It
becomes e-waste. E-waste is a term used for electronic products that are near or at the
end of their useful life. Many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled.
Computers, TVs, printers, and smart phones are common electronic devices but my
project will focus on computer equipment.

Many computer professionals suggest that desktop computers be replaced every five
years or every three to four years for laptops. This is based on cost analysis plus the
average time it takes to wear out the internal parts of a computer. Computers aren't
built to last a long time, and even if they were, software updates so quickly, older
machines often can't keep up with new programs. Most times, it’s more cost effective to
buy new equipment rather than pay high repair charges or use equipment that is no
longer secure.

When people get new equipment, some folks just throw the old equipment in the trash.
Please do not do this. E-waste is a global ecological issue because it can add to air
pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, information security, and even human
exploitation.

This list below comes from https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-e-

waste.

- In 2009, discarded TVs, computers, peripherals (including printers, scanners, fax

machines) mice, keyboards, and cell phones totaled about 2.37 million short
tons.
- E-waste represents 2% of America's trash in landfills, but it equals 70% of overall
toxic waste.
- 20 to 50 million metric tons of e-waste are disposed worldwide every year.
- Cell phones and other electronic items contain high amounts of precious metals like
gold or silver. Americans dump phones containing over $60 million in
gold/silver every year.
- A large number of what is labeled as "e-waste" is actually not waste at
all, but rather whole electronic equipment or parts that are readily marketable
for reuse or can be recycled for materials recovery.
- Only 12.5% of e-waste is currently recycled.
- For every 1 million cell phones that are recycled, 35,274 lbs of copper, 772 lbs of
silver, 75 lbs of gold, and 33 lbs of palladium can be recovered.
- Recycling 1 million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the electricity used by 3,657
U.S. homes in a year.
Instead of people trashing their computer equipment, my project will focus on keeping
them out of the landfill. I am primarily interested in any donated CPUs, monitors,
keyboards, mice, personal printers, and power cords.

I decided to do my project on this because it is something that I have been thinking

about for a while now. Ever since i was young, we had many computers come through
our household and I really want to learn what can be done to reuse them instead of just
throwing it away. In Boy Scouts, it got hammered into me that we need to reduce, reuse,
and recycle and electronic equipment is something I see more households have
everyday. I'm also concerned that tossed equipment contains a lot of parts and minerals
that could break down in landfills and cause harm to the environment. So whatever we
can do, even if it's only a little, at least we're trying to do our part.

Information on quality and quantity will come through interviews, the amount of
computer equipment I manage to collect, how many are successfully refurbished, how
many are sold for a lower price (to help with maintenance and repair cost), and how
many are given away to the needy and the location.

I don't think this project will cost anything except my time, however if i manage to collect
a lot of equipment there is a possibility that I might have to rent a truck to transport
everything.