I get rid of two desktop, three laptop PCs, Part 1

It's been wearing on me for months: I need to start culling the herd. The computer herd.

I've been amassing PCs for a few years now, both my own machines and castoffs from others, and as new-old boxes come into my life, so too must some go out.

But what do you do with old PCs that nobody wants, as well as other items that fall under the term "electronic waste"?

In the recent past I've taken stuff to the regular hazardous/electronic waste pickup events at Los Angeles Valley College, in which city employees in HAZMAT suits wait for me to pop my trunk and then pull stuff out of it en masse with their heavily gloved hands.

I could also take it to the always-open e-waste pickup point somewhere in Sun Valley.

But both of those are too much trouble, especially when there's a much better alternative, at least in the Los Angeles area.

Your friendly neighborhood Goodwill Industries pickup location is now accepting old PCs. Yep, places like Goodwill and the Salvation Army used to refuse to take old computers, monitors and the like because of their classification as hazardous waste. For Goodwill at least, that is thankfully no longer the case.

Now Goodwill has turned e-waste into a business. You can drop off your old computers and related equipment at Goodwill, and those items will actually be turned into income for the charity.

Here are the details from Goodwill Southern California's site:

• Goodwill is a state-authorized e-waste collector.
• Process over 10,000 units per month
• Pick up large corporate donations
• Individual donations accepted at Goodwill Donation Centers
• Goodwill accepts computers, monitors, TV sets, digital cameras, printers, modems, and other electronic equipment.

And what does Goodwill do with your computer once you donate it? Also from the Web site:

How do we recycle computers?

• Wipe hard drive to Department of Defense standard
• Refurbish & resell - 10%
• Dismantle & sell plastic and metal parts for salvage - 70%
• 20% sent to authorized recyclers for "cancellation"

Like me, you can just load up your trunk, pull up to Goodwill and then unload. Or you can call 323-539-2130 or e-mail ComputerRecycling@goodwillsocal.org for more information.

So ... what did I dump and why? The next post tells a..