Recycling Computers with Goodwill

By Phyllis J. Bandstra
President & CEO, Goodwill of the Southern Alleghenies

Goodwill of the Southern Alleghenies would like to thank the Somerset Daily American and Mr. Rob Stemple for his at Your Service column entitled “Computer recycling question” in which Mr. Stemple provided information about Goodwill’s computer recycling program in response to a reader’s question: “I have an old computer and want to recycle it responsibly. Where can I take it?”

There are a few points for which we would like to provide clarification. Goodwill of the Southern Alleghenies owns and operates 10 Goodwill Retail Stores and Donation Centers.

The location that was the subject of the column is our Somerset Goodwill located at 1606 N. Center Avenue.

Through our partnership with Dell Reconnect, we accept donations of computers and send them to Dell who refurbishes the computers or recycles them responsibly. All computer equipment has value – sometimes as a whole system, sometimes as parts, and sometimes as raw materials such as metals, plastics, and glass. Dell ensures that its downstream partners will wipe clear any data on hard drives. But we ask that donors back-up any valuable information and erase sensitive personal data from the hard drive before bringing systems to Goodwill.

Dell provides proceeds from the donations to us to help support our mission of empowering individuals and families with employment barriers to achieve their fullest potential in the community through work services. This partnership allows us to receive revenue, just as we do when people shop in our stores, to support our mission.

Computer-related donations that we sell in our stores include monitors, printers, and peripherals in good working order. While we do have the space to take computer donations at our Somerset store, and thank the public for their continued donations, residents in the Somerset area who have very large quantities of computer systems to donate can call the Goodwill Transportation Department at (814) 534-0163 to discuss pick-ups.

The column talked about donations that were left outside overnight and could have become damaged. Because we value all donations made by the public, we ask that donations be made during business hours only so that no items are left outside in the elements where they can become damaged and not suitable to sell. Our Somerset Goodwill is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. The business hours of all of our locations are listed on our website at www.gogoodwill.org under “Stores/Donate.” We do not, however, utilize drop boxes.

Our 10 convenient stores/donation centers offer many location options for making donations.

We are proud of our partnership with Dell, which further represents our commitment of being good stewards of the environment. We sincerely thank the public for their continued support of Goodwill Industries with their generous donations, whether computer equipment, clothing, or household goods. It is because of you that we are able to carry out our mission of helping people to achieve independence through employment.

And we again thank the Somerset Daily American for bringing to the light the importance of recycling through Goodwill.

Copyright ^© 2012, Daily American