A group of 19 nonprofit agencies across Detroit including Head Start Programs, the Urban League and area churches. A used computer dealer in Ferndale. The Gartner Group, a prominent high-tech think tank, says 49 million old PCs will get dumped this year. Forrester Research estimates that a third of all new computers bought will be replacements for graying PCs. That compares to more than six years for VCRs and nine years for TVs.
Federal rules prohibit the dumping of computers into landfills.
Monitors contain phosphorous. Processors contain mercury and chromium. Circuit boards contain lead. Computer glass contains barium and cadmium. But trying to give some PCs away to nonprofits can bring its own headaches.