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Apple Recycling Old Macs for Free

Posted by CowboyNeal on Sat Apr 29, 2006 11:07 AM
from the not-just-for-doorstops-anymore dept.
Announcements Businesses Apple
charleste writes "CNN is reporting that Apple is going to recycle Macs for free. I wonder if this means they will actually recycle them in Cupertino, or sent overseas to be dumped as many 'recycled' computers do, or if they will actually mine them. And does this make the MacQuarium obsolete?"
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  • I will do one better! (Score:5, Funny)

    by crazyjeremy (857410) * on Saturday April 29 2006, @11:08AM (#15228179) Homepage Journal
    In other news, I will now recycle ANY piece of computer equipment for free. Simply get the device to me (in working order) and I will disassemble, dismember, shoot, melt, sell or attack it with a cowbell.

    • Re:I will do one better! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by joe 155 (937621) on Saturday April 29 2006, @11:36AM (#15228331) Journal
      I am also now offering a similar service, where I will just use the mac, hell, I'd even pay for the shipping... It seems like giving them away to people would be a far better way of getting rid of old, but still usable, computers... onyl recycle when they no longer work

      • Re:I will do one better! (Score:5, Informative)

        by Darkon (206829) on Saturday April 29 2006, @11:44AM (#15228370)
        It seems like giving them away to people would be a far better way of getting rid of old, but still usable, computers

        Not necessarily. Often these old machines are highly inefficient in terms of the computing power they provide vs the electricity they consume. Sure, having one of these [sun.com] at home would be cool - in fact I did used to use the next model down as my home server - but these days I just don't want to either pay the power bill or try to justify the waste of resources. Sometimes it really is better just to let this old kit go to silicon heaven.
        • I don't know sure, the old computer is less efficient than a new one, but once you take into account the energy used to *make* the new computer, I doubt that you saved energy, more likely you wasted energy.
        • Maybe they don't want a repeat of the old Mac Clone - where people cold take the custom bios chips out of a defunct mac and use it to legally run a clone made by Franklin Computer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_clones [wikipedia.org]

          a large amount of this system software was included in the Macintosh's ROM chips. Hence any competitor who attempted to create a Macintosh clone would have to either illegally duplicate all the copyrighted code in the ROMs -- in which case Apple could legally quash the manufacturer -- or reverse-engineer the ROMs, which would have been an enormous and costly process without certainty of success.

          The strategy of suppressing clone development was successful; from 1986 to 1991, several manufacturers created Macintosh clones, obtaining their ROMs by actually purchasing one of Apple's Macintosh computers and removing from it the required parts, then installing those parts in the clone's case.

          ...

          Before true clones were available, the Atari ST could be converted into a Mac by adding the third-party Spectre GCR emulator (which required that the user purchase a set of Mac ROMs). The Amiga could also be converted into a Mac with similar emulators. Since Apple Computer never manufactured a 68060 based Mac, the fastest way to run native 68000 MacOS applications on real hardware was to run it on an Atari or Amiga.

          So your dead mac is worth money. Pull the roms, send the rest back.

          • Back before there were powerbooks (in fact before I was into Macs) there was a company that made Mac portables. The catch was that you had to remove the ROM and the CPU and install it into the laptop. Anyone remember the name of the company that sold these and what they were called?
          • I don't think this has to do with Mac Clones. I think this is just one way that Apple can continue to be progressive in their marketing.

            Maybe I have a skewed view of the typical Mac user - but I consider them more progressive, open to new technologies and, well - maybe even more likely to be a vegetarian or drive an economical but classy car then a PC user.

            You must remember that Microsoft won't be able to compete on this level - they don't make the hardware and likely won't recycle it for free. The averag
          • So your dead mac is worth money. Pull the roms, send the rest back.

            10 years ago that was true. Now it's cheaper to buy a used G3 or G4 Mac entire than screw around with clones or emulation (if any of these are still sold at all) of an obsolete OS.

        • I still have an E450 running at home, 4x 480mhz cpus and 4gig ram... It's far cheaper than a modern system capable of handling the same kind of load. It may not be the best system for brute force processing, but it's very stable and will handle a high load easily.

          • It may not be the best system for brute force processing, but it's very stable and will handle a high load easily.

            But really, how much high load do you really need at home, anyway?

            Even if you're in the hosting business (and who in their right mind would do that from home?), throughput would be much more important than load.

            I suppose you could be a computational chemist or doing bioinformatics stuff from home, but even then, I would think it would be cheaper to get a few x86 boxes and cluster them for

        • Often these old machines are highly inefficient in terms of the computing power they provide vs the electricity they consume.

          Yes, computing power-per-watt is less, but:

          • Sometimes that's all the computing power someone needs. Further, using an older machine that requires less power (i.e. my Mac LCIII ran at about 20 watts versus 70 watts for my PowerBook) would therefore be more efficient.
          • You also need to consider the energy and resources to dispose of the old machine. Don't forget about the non-dol
              • I use a Kill-A-Watt [p3international.com] meter. It displays volts, amps and watts in realtime, and has a kilowatt counter built-in.

                I used it to replace a server in my house (old server: HP Vectra VLi8 PIII-650, 46 watts idle, new server: Toshiba Tecra 8100 PIII-650 laptop, 15 watts idle), and find some surprising waste, such as a set of Boston Acoustics speakers that drew a continuous 40 watts, even when "turned off", and my HP Laserjet 2100, which draws 13-16 watts in powersave mode. (The speakers are now on a power stri

    • Some Context (Score:3, Interesting)

      by fm6 (162816)
      In California, and many other places, it's now illegal to just throw old electronics in the trash. So Apple is actually supplying a valuable service.
  • That was one of the best things to do with an SI. I used to make them somewhat regularly, they were fun and great conversation pieces. Plus they were the perfect size for a college desk.

    • The Macquarium SE on my desk (I do tech support at an art school) is easily the most-commented-about aspect of my office decor... which also includes several paintings, photographs, and other works of art I've created. {shrug}

      My other recycling project is upgrading a Mac SE to run OS X. Nothing terribly challenging, just an SVGA 9" CRT and a Mac Mini mounted inside. The best part of that is the "Mac SE X" nameplate on the front. {grin}

      Of course Macquaria are really tangential to the question of Mac re

      • Out of curiousity, where do you get a 9" CRT with decent resolution? I think it would be easier to find a LCD, since those are going in mini-DVD players and in-car video all the time. Sounds like a cool project, though... I might rip you off and make my own.
        • My initial plan was to use an LCD, but I couldn't find one the right size and shape. Most of the LCDs being made in the 9-10" range are "widescreen" format, and/or overpriced touch screens. I finally went with a same-size monochrome CRT, to keep the original look of the system, and to draw out the "wait, how did you..." reaction a little longer from those who realize instinctively that there's no way OS X could ever run on a stock SE. ("Well, I had to piggyback a G4 upgrade card on top of a PowerPC repla
  • This isn't about being green, it is about removing older macs from the 2nd hand market. The exact same reason that HP offers a similar program.

    • Re:Not about being green (Score:4, Interesting)

      by anonicon (215837) on Saturday April 29 2006, @11:21AM (#15228246)
      This isn't about being green, it is about removing older macs from the 2nd hand market. The exact same reason that HP offers a similar program.

      OK. As long as it achieves the same effect, whether by some altruistic concern for the environment or through sheer greed, it's all good. Besides, it helps the individual Mac resllers who will be able to maintain a greater profit margin on used equipment due to less product glut on the open market.

      Chuck
    • Not exactly. They don't just take Macs. They take any old computer. Theoretically, if you still wanted to use your old computer, you could give them the computer that was the old one before you got the new one. At some point, you'll want to get rid of the old one. It seems really wierd right now, but at some point, its likely that I will want to recycle this Macbook Pro in front of me. Precisely, it will likely be in six years, which is three years after I buy my next computer.

    • Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition vs. Apple (Score:5, Informative)

      by reporter (666905) on Saturday April 29 2006, @11:45AM (#15228388) Homepage
      DAldredge (2353) incorrectly stated, "This isn't about being green, ..." On the contrary, the CNN report [cnn.com] mentioned in the lead article starting this thread of discussion talks explicitly about recycling.

      How has Apple handled recycling?

      According to the "The 2005 Computer Report Card [svtc.org]" by the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, "Apple, Dell, Gateway, and HP are the companies that use recyclers that have signed the Electronic Recyclers Pledge of Stewardship. To learn more about the Recycler Pledge go to: http://www.svtc.org///cleancc/recycle/recycler_ple dge.htm [svtc.org]".

      In that report, note that Apple received the second highest score in the category of "DISPOSAL CHAIN". That category indicates the degree to which a company will audit the entire disposal chain (including work sub-contracted to suspicious companies in China, Taiwan Province, and Korea) to ensure that recycling of old computer equipment is done in accordance with the most ethical, most responsible practices.

      Note that Apple management actually signed the Electronics Recycler's Pledge of True Stewardship [svtc.org], committing to the gold standard of ethical, responsible recycling.

      Finally, the recent decision by Apple management to take back old equipment for free is probably due to the tireless efforts of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition [svtc.org] (SVTC) and other groups in the Computer TAKE-BACK Campaign [computertakeback.com] (CTBC). When Steve Jobs gave the keynote speech at the 2005 graduation ceremony at Stanford University, CTBC flew a banner over the ceremony [e-takeback.org]. The banner exclaimed, "STEVE - DON'T BE A MINI PLAYER - RECYCLE ALL E-WASTE".

      • Indeed... (Score:3, Informative)

        by Svartalf (2997)
        The Computer Take-Back Campaign was canvassing this neighborhood for signatures and all just about a week or so ago.

        They've been really aggressive about getting letters, etc. to Jobs and BOD members about doing take-backs on the computers (They already do them on iPods for free...) and to handle the returns in a responsible manner.
    • It's Saturday, you don't have to sip the anti-koolaid today.

      What you wrote might be true if the program was restricted to recycling old Macs. This program covers any computer; the only requirement is that you purchase a new Mac to participate. More details [apple.com]. More info [apple.com].

      HP, AFAIK, charges a small fee [hp.com] to recycle your computer.

      If you're going to slag on companies, at least get your info straight. Then you'll have some factual basis for your cynicism.
  • what all is involved in recycling a computer? I know there is quite a bit of lead on the circuit boards that needs to be handled properly, but what exactly do they do with it?
    • I don't know about Apple's program, but in general electronics "recycling" involves shipping them to some impoverished country where people making practically nothing remove chips from boards by burning them over a coal fire to melt the lead/tin solder.
      As you can imagine, these people are not exactly working in healthy conditions. In fact, the report I was listening to recently said that the operations were polluting the area so badly that this little village by a river had to start importing bottled water

  • This came from Steve (Score:3, Insightful)

    by thatguywhoiam (524290) on Saturday April 29 2006, @11:17AM (#15228222)
    I'll bet this is a directive from SJ. He's a pretty green dude.

    I remember a quote from him once, pretty excellent example of Steve Jobs' mentality actually. It was both very poetic and utterly ridiculous. This was from back in the early Apple days before he was fired by Scully. He said (paraphrasing), 'I want a computer factory that takes raw beach sand in one end and outputs fully assembled Macs from just that raw material.' What a crazy, wonderful idea.

    • Re:This came from Steve (Score:4, Funny)

      by tverbeek (457094) on Saturday April 29 2006, @12:14PM (#15228515) Homepage
      'I want a computer factory that takes raw beach sand in one end and outputs fully assembled Macs from just that raw material.'

      Great, so there goes another ecologically important wildlife habitat and economically important tourism attraction! :)

  • Old Computers are a Gold Mine (Score:5, Informative)

    by coffeecan (842352) on Saturday April 29 2006, @11:23AM (#15228261)
    Literally. There is more gold per-ton in old computer parts than gold ore, and its cheaper to extract. so it makes sense given the recent rise of precious metals for apple to salvage as much of these resources as possible. This Free program is probably going to turn a profit.

    • Re:Old Computers are a Gold Mine (Score:5, Informative)

      by shashi (56458) on Saturday April 29 2006, @11:30AM (#15228301) Homepage

      Very true. There are also a lot of metals besides gold that are worth more (though in smaller amounts, like platinum). I've been part of a business before where we chunked up old Macs and PCs, packed all the circuit boards up in huge wooden crates, and sent them off to a recovery mill... a couple months later, a few tons of scrap is turned into a check for $20,000. It's not bad money but it takes a lot of manual labor to separate it out (i.e. separating circuits from CRT's and plastic) or the mill will charge you to do the separation and sorting.

      Also, newer computers have much lower amounts of these materials, making them almost worthless. The sweet spot are the 68020's and 486's (the heavy processors are where you get the most precious metals per oz.).

  • Apple has been doing this with batteries for years. If you have old batteries from apple products, just take them to the apple store and they will take them off your hands for you. This is a much better option than sending it to a landfill.

  • Obsolete? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by oneiros27 (46144) on Saturday April 29 2006, @11:24AM (#15228264) Homepage
    No, no... cost more...

    When there are less items available on the market, the value increases if there's still a demand for it. (if there's no demand, then the value's effectively 0)

    The conspiracy theorist would assume that Apple's trying to corner the market on MacQuariums, and they need more spare parts, so they're tricking people into giving them the parts under the assumption of 'recycling' (which it is). They might even have a company that's willing to buy lots of thousands of these for the very purpose. (pbfixit comes to mind)

    They might also find that it's more cost effective to strip and refurb some machines than to have new parts manufactured for those with extended warranties. (this assumes that the product is on the market long enough for people to recycle out of warranty machines while other people still have them under warranties)
  • A little research is a wonderful thing [apple.com]
    . Ahh, /. All the news that's fit to print several days ago.

  • Wow, why not a rebate of say 100.00 to make a user switch from win-ux and just fill a warehouse with the junk.


    When it's full they can have a new ad campaign with bulldozers loading barges with all the junk and crow about how many people switched. They could probably write it all off as marketing costs and sell more hardware to boot!. Apple wins!

  • If the machines are still working, then reusing them is going to be better than ripping them apart for the gold.

  • Staying in the US (Score:4, Informative)

    by bizard (691544) on Saturday April 29 2006, @11:32AM (#15228314)
    At the announcement, Jobs specifically said that the recycling would all be done in the U.S. and not just shipped off to China.

  • Apple recycling old COMPUTERS for free (Score:3, Interesting)

    by BearRanger (945122) on Saturday April 29 2006, @11:41AM (#15228361)
    Not just Macs. Steve Jobs' quote at the shareholders meeting was something like: "We like switchers too."
  • Apple will recycle ANY computer you decide to unload on them when you purchase a new computer. Even your old 486 Win 3.1 box. That way, switchers get in on the recycling action too.

    Here's a snippet from the Shareholder meeting stating so. [tripod.com]

  • Taking over the world (Score:3, Funny)

    by suv4x4 (956391) on Saturday April 29 2006, @12:53PM (#15228666)
    - Steve Jobs wants to take over the world
    - Apple all of a sudden recycles computers for free
    - Steve Jobs owns Apple

    This can mean only one thing: Steve Jobs has a new trapper keeper.

  • Links from the horse's mouth (Score:3, Informative)

    by Jon Abbott (723) on Saturday April 29 2006, @02:30PM (#15229037) Homepage
    Neither Slashdot nor CNN posted Apple's official computer recycling webpage, so here it is [apple.com]. For the U.S. (excluding the Cupertino area) they are partnered with a company called Metech [recycleapc.com] to do the recycling. In Cupertino, Apple has had their own recycling facility for quite some time now that has freely accepted used Macs, PCs and some home electronics.

  • sent overseas? (Score:3, Informative)

    by weg (196564) on Saturday April 29 2006, @05:05PM (#15229557)
    I wonder if this means they will actually recycle them in Cupertino, or sent overseas to be dumped

    Do a little research before you submit a story next time.. especially if the story is several days old. From Apples homepage [apple.com]:

    Hazardous materials

    No hazardous waste from Apple's U.S. recycling program is shipped outside North America. All recovered materials are processed domestically, with the exception of some commodity materials that can be recycled for future use. Apple's recycling policies prohibit the use of recovered plastics as fuel in smelting.
    • donate them to poor urban schools, or third world countries?

      Urban schools have plenty of technology, thanks to programs like E-rate. What they don't have is people to set it up, whether it's old junk like this or brand new machines. Take a walk around a typical city school some time; it's enlightening.

      (I live in Buffalo, not an exceptionally wealthy city by any means.)

      --saint
    • umm... power? I computer is useless without power. You think those in poverty want a higher electricity bill (assuming they even have electricity)? Also assuming they are able to get electricity, what are the chances it will be quality enough to allow the system to run well (many poor places have varying voltage and current, and frequent blackouts).
    • A few points:
      1)This isn't only Apple computers, they will recycle computers made by anyone.
      2)I'm sure if the computer has value people will sell it. I put an old 486 up on EBay before (working Pentium system). No one even bid a dollar on it, something like that has no value on the market I could find, if this program was around then I would have recycled it, but it ended up going into the trash.
    • If this is done properly (Which is much more likely if the actual recycling is done in the U.S. as Apple claims) this is a lot better than just dumping your old gear in the trash. A fair amount of the heavy metals can be expected to be stripped out for reuse, those parts which are not economically recyclable will be divided into two parts: general waste which is disposed of at any old landfill, and toxic materials which are disposed of at designated facilities that monitor groundwater perfusion, etc. But
    • But why bother to RTFA?

      The old program costs you eight bucks, while the new one is free [apple.com]. The old program was still very reasonable.
      Starting in June, Apple will offer a free computer take-back program for U.S. customers who buy a new Mac through the Apple Store or an Apple retail store. Check back soon for more details.
    • There's a mandatory recycling fee for monitors in California. Screens between 15" and 35" have an $8 fee (CRT and LCD). This only started last year, so it's misleading to say that just because you were charged a state-imposed tax on a newly purchased system, that it wasn't "free" to recycle your POS Pentium-III system. Heck, everyone has to charge the tax, but you don't see Fry's begging to take back your old systems*.

      From the .gov site: http://www.erecycle.org/fee.htm [erecycle.org]
      Or clearer details: http://www.mpcco [mpccorp.com]

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