If you want to know the magnitude of the problem, look in your
closet. Or maybe the basement, or the garage, or wherever you've put
your old TV, computer, or any other piece of technology that has since
been upgraded.

Someday you're going to want to get rid of that stuff, and so is
everyone else. Last year, 56 million PCs were scrapped, more than were
sold, according to Jim Gardner of Metech International, a Rhode Island
company that's making money by taking in all those castoffs and
returning their parts to productive uses.

It used to be that you could leave them at the curb and they'd be
carted away, but in 2000, Massachusetts became the first state to ban
the disposal of TVs and computer monitors in landfills. Maine also has
such a law now, and Dick Peloquin, president of ElectroniCycle

Inc., a Gardner electronics recycler, expects that soon, all states
will follow suit. If you're looking to get rid of a machine, some
cities and towns offer one-day dropoff events and other recycling
services. Another option is to deal with a recycling company directly.

Both Metech and ElectroniCycle take in more than just monitors and
TVs. They'll accept fax machines, cellphones, keyboards, scanners, and
plenty of other detritus. You might not think that such junk is all
that valuable, and you would be correct.

There are valuable materials inside that can be sold at a profit,
such as copper (in wiring and circuit boards) and aluminum (in
radiation shields and heat conductors). There is also steel and even
relatively minute amounts of gold.

But there are also mountains of plastic and leaded glass, whose
value isn't so obvious. Gardner said his company pays to have the
plastic taken away "most economically" to waste-to-energy plants, where
it is burned. But some of it ends up in pothole-patching material and
in other "low-end" plastics recycling. Similarly, Peloquin said
ElectroniCycle's plastics go to manufacturers, who grind it and then
use it to make "virgin" plastic.

ElectroniCycle doesn't only disassemble for scrap. It reconditions
some of its parts for the used-goods market and maintains relationships
with Goodwill Industries and the Salvation Army.

By now you must be wondering: How do they make any money? The answer
is obvious, if not somewhat disappointing, for consumers: You pay.

At ElectroniCycle, costs are by weight: 18 cents a pound. Peloquin
estimates that a computer's CPU or a 15-inch monitor each weighs about
25 pounds, which would cost about $4.50 each. Estimated cost for a
25-inch TV: $13-$15. Shipping is additional.

Metech's pricing is different: Put all that will fit into a 26- inch
square box, weighing no more than 55 pounds, and the charge will be
$30, including shipping. For that option, you must give them a
credit-card number, and they will send you a coded label for the
shipment. Both companies have restrictions, so you should consult with
them first.

Metech International

120 Mapleville Main St.

Mapleville RI, 02839

888 638-2761 or 401-568-0711

recycleapc.com ElectroniCycle, Inc.

461-471 West Broadway Gardner, MA 01440

800-829-5082 or 978-632-7666

electronicycle.com/recycling-services.htm

To see what dropoff or recycling services your town might offer, go
to the Electronic Industry Alliance website, eiae.org. You'll find
links to other commercial recyclers in the state at
electronicsrecycling.net/menu2/search/ei asearch.asp?state=MA.