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#281223 - 08/05/2006 00:19 unloading broken electronics
DWallach
carpal tunnel

Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
I've got an old surround receiver that smokes when you turn it on. I've got an old 5-CD carousel that's got a broken mechanism. I've got a satelite/sub computer speaker where the sub is intermittent. I've got a bunch of largely worthless (to me) electronics. The question is, what should I do with this stuff? It's been piling up in the corner, but that corner needs to be repurposed.

Is there any money in this old stuff (whether by donation or via eBay), or should I load up the trash can and call it a day?

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#281224 - 08/05/2006 00:22 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: DWallach]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
As someone else recently suggested for something else, you could try Freecycle. You never know what someone might want. That doesn't help your financial concern, though.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk

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#281225 - 08/05/2006 04:52 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: DWallach]
Roger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
Quote:
or should I load up the trash can and call it a day?


At the very least, take it to the local recycling centre. You have those (for free), right?
_________________________
-- roger

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#281226 - 08/05/2006 17:56 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: Roger]
DWallach
carpal tunnel

Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
Recycling center? The closest I can get is a place where I can dump aluminum cans and glass bottles. They don't take anything else. Then there are places like Goodwill, who mostly take old clothes. I don't know if they can do much with old electronics.

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#281227 - 08/05/2006 18:16 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: DWallach]
mlord
carpal tunnel

Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14493
Loc: Canada
If you cannot fix them yourself, then just give them to the local electronics surplus shop. Most larger cities have a place (or two) like that.

Cheers.

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#281228 - 08/05/2006 18:39 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: DWallach]
Roger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
Quote:
Recycling center? The closest I can get is a place where I can dump aluminum cans and glass bottles.


Wow. We have a free, local municipal recycling centre which takes bottles, cans, paper, books, card, wood, textiles, plastics, metal, oil, car batteries, dry-cell batteries, mobile phones, electronics, garden waste, and pretty much anything else in separate skips.

It's about 1.5 miles up the road from us.

It's restricted to residential waste, to avoid (e.g.) builders taking the p***.
_________________________
-- roger

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#281229 - 08/05/2006 18:44 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: Roger]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
Welcome to Uh-murrika: Land of Excess.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk

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#281230 - 08/05/2006 18:53 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: wfaulk]
matthew_k
pooh-bah

Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
Well, in california we've got computer recycling. Every time we buy a a CRT/Plasma/LCD display we pay a fee for disposal which supposedly means we can turn them in to be recycled. I'm not sure where I would though.

Staples or Office Depot occasionally run computer recycling weeks where they'll take electronics for free.

Matthew

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#281231 - 08/05/2006 19:52 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: Roger]
tman
carpal tunnel

Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
Quote:
It's restricted to residential waste, to avoid (e.g.) builders taking the p***.

Sometimes they're a bit paranoid about that rule. I was helping somebody redo their kitchen units and they said it was industrial waste! Kept arguing and arguing until they finally said they'll accept 1 car load which just happened to be all we wanted to dump anyway.

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#281232 - 08/05/2006 21:03 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: tman]
AndrewT
old hand

Registered: 16/02/2002
Posts: 867
Loc: Oxford, UK
I usually get away with murder at these municipal recycling sites and I've done it lots of times! The trick is to set aside any copper waste separately (pipework, cabling, water cylinders) and approach someone at the recycling site and ask if they want any copper. The answer will be "yes, it's the only perk we get with this job" and then you stand aside while they unload your car for you!

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#281233 - 08/05/2006 23:43 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: DWallach]
FireFox31
pooh-bah

Registered: 19/09/2002
Posts: 2494
Loc: East Coast, USA
Quote:
an old surround receiver that smokes

At your next party, it'll serve double duty as a fog machine.

Quote:
an old 5-CD carousel

Hold 5 cups of coffee instead of one.
_________________________
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FireFox31
110gig MKIIa (30+80), Eutronix lights, 32 meg stacked RAM, Filener orange gel lens, Greenlights Lit Buttons green set

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#281234 - 09/05/2006 02:58 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: tman]
andy
carpal tunnel

Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
Quote:

Sometimes they're a bit paranoid about that rule. I was helping somebody redo their kitchen units and they said it was industrial waste! Kept arguing and arguing until they finally said they'll accept 1 car load which just happened to be all we wanted to dump anyway.


Imagine the trouble that builders who only have their van for transport have when going to the dump at the weekend with their own household waste...
_________________________
Remind me to change my signature to something more interesting someday

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#281235 - 09/05/2006 04:08 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: DWallach]
Mach
old hand

Registered: 15/07/2002
Posts: 828
Loc: Texas, USA
Are you still located in Houston? It's been a few years but there were several places to recycle electronics. EPO on Fondren can probably tell you where the nearest one is if the list below doesn't help.

http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/03/recycle/popupwhat/electronics.html

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#281236 - 09/05/2006 17:47 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: Mach]
DWallach
carpal tunnel

Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
From that list, ScrapComputer.com sounds like the right answer (they're also close to my house), but their web site is fubar. (Maybe it's being recycled.)

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#281237 - 09/05/2006 17:50 Re: unloading broken electronics [Re: FireFox31]
DWallach
carpal tunnel

Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
Quote:
(Surround receiver) At your next party, it'll serve double duty as a fog machine.
(5-CD carousel) Hold 5 cups of coffee instead of one.

Such clever ideas. Certainly, no party is complete without the smell of charred electronics. That magic black smoke is all the rage among the kiddies. The carousel could also double as an hors d'ourves serving device, if only we could convince the tray to open.

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