Sometimes when I am giving a talk to community members, I am asked why NextStep volunteers and staff work so hard to get technology back into the community. The argument is that buying new computers, telephones, lamps, radios - doesn't really cost that much. Why spend all this energy refurbishing and testing? The new Oregon electronics recycling law is all about recycling the hardware - not refurbishing it. The answer is simple. The resource exists right here - right now. At NextStep we say use it until it is no longer usable and THEN send it to the shredder for recycling - the better way to go.

I received this note last week:

Thank you for the computer. Being a low income family we would not be able to have one if it wasn't for programs like this to help. I will use it so I can become computer literate. I also have a grandchild living with me. He will be able to learn from it too. I would also like to thank you for helping our environment by renewing reusable products. It should be a law to recycle and reuse. We have too much garbage.
    Thank you,
    Lorraine W. Westfir, OR

Here is the story of that one computer donation:
A community member donated a resource they no longer had a use for. We used the donation as a tool to offer job and social skills training to marginalized community members - folks who others might consider unemployable or who have never had a job. A social worker referred Lorraine W. to NextStep, understanding the value and importance of connecting Lorraine and her family with technology. This one computer that was considered waste has effected numerous lives - including the grandmother and grandchild it eventually was placed with. At NextStep, we see the donation of technology as much more than waste to send to a shredder. Shredding of technology should be the last thing that is done to a reusable product, not the first, as our present electronics recycling law requires..

Some key points:

    * Technology is still costly-even though prices continue to go down. A new laptop can cost any where from $499.00 to $3,000.00 depending on the make, model, and specs. 13.6 percent of Oregonians — more than 506,000 people — lived in poverty in 2008. That rate was significantly above Oregon’s 12.9 percent poverty rate in 2007. Oregon is experiencing an 11.9 unemployment rate. There are thousands of Oregonians who can not afford to purchase an alarm clock to wake them to go to school, a computer to apply for their unemployment benefits, or a lamp to light their home. NExtStep offers all of these items for an extremely low cost on our ReUSE Stores, and we offer technology grants.
    * A refurbished computer can do all the tasks that a new computer does after it is fully tested, upgraded when necessary and refurbished with new software installed. the majority of tasks people use their computers for are to email, surf the web, and write documents. Computer that are five years old, with a RAM boost,the addition of a larger hard drive and updated software, can do all these tasks well.
    * To manufacture one new computer with a CRT monitor (yes, these are still being manufactured) consumes up to 108 tons of raw materials. if these resources are already above ground, why dig them up?

There are many countries where refurbishing still exists and it still makes sense to repair a blender, a radio, or a computer. It is important for all of us to understand the value of reuse. So, join NextStep in saying "JUST SAY NO TO SHREDDING!" and donate your electronics today.

lorraine