Dimitrula Velez
Option 1: Recycling Your Old Computer

Information Technology Center
One Main Street
Houston, Texas 77002

Re: Desktop Computing Project

I’m writing in regards to the Desktop Computing Project at University of Houston-Downtown. According to the Project, full time faculty and staff members are provided with a desktop computer or laptop on a three year rotating basis determined by the department. The computers that fall behind minimum standard are upgraded based on the departments upgrade guideline. The project did not state what happens with the computers that can’t be used. There are millions of computers that are being thrown out in the waste land. “Companies Financial Corp. in Baton Rouge, La., was able to sell about 400 PCs to employees for $5 each” (Nash). “The rest went to recyclers that dismantled them and sold the scrap copper, gold and glass” (Nash). . We currently have over 14,000 students at the University of Houston-Downtown; out of 14,000 student we can determine how many students are in need of a computer, and offer them one. "People are much more interested in giving an old computer to a non-profit than seeing it recycled." An Institution of higher learning such as University of Houston-Downtown, should start a program that donates computers to students who do not own a computer or donate computers to a nonprofit organization. “In the U.S., even if you made a well-intentioned effort to properly recycle your computer, there's a 50 to 80 percent chance that your computer didn't end up where you thought it would” (Toothman). “Recycling electronics in developing nations (including China, India, Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast) is achieved at a fraction of what it would cost in developed countries” (Toothman) “Part of the savings also stems from the fact that occupational and environmental laws tend to be weaker in