Nowadays, we sometimes see a much less heartbreaking but thoroughly up to date version of this story: obsolete computers are left under cover of darkness on the doorstep of a nonprofit agency.
Here in Massachusetts, dumping computers into a landfill is prohibited, and these stealth donors may feel that they have hit upon a socially and environmentally responsible way of "recycling" equipment that they no longer use.
However, as I have suggested elsewhere in this blog, nonstandard or substandard computer equipment - even if donated outright - can end up costing nonprofit organizations far more than purchases that are carefully planned. The real financial drain is not in the initial cost, but in covering the person-hours of technicians maintaining nonstandard equipment, and in the cost of keeping non-technical staff idle while the equipment is unusable.
Fortunately, the good folks at TechSoup take a very sensible approach to the issue. They have tips for those who want to donate old computers, and for those who are interested in procuring refurbished equipment. Best of all, they are tracking organizations that recycle computers; you can enter your zip code and find out where the recycler nearest to you is located. With such information on hand, your troubles aren't over, but you are in a position to benefit from the footwork done by others.
Meanwhile, I suspect that the real potential for responsible reuse of old computers lies in programs that put them in the homes of low-income individuals and families that would not otherwise have any computer at all. Stand-alone home computers are much less likely to fail to meet the demands of their users than nonstandard networked equipment meeting the needs of a busy nonprofit organization.
Of course, any program that places computers in homes should include in its design a solid plan for training the recipients to use and maintain the equipment they receive, which is a strategy that can combine job skills training with a tactic for keeping a home computer from reverting to a recycling problem the first time it malfunctions. For an example of such a program, check out "Technology Goes Home," a project of the Boston Digital Bridge Foundation.
A note on the subject heading of this item:
I'm grateful to Jeff Behrens, founder of the Telluride Group (which has since merged with Mindshift), for bringing the concept of gifts unkind to my attention.
