Sustainable Business
E-cycling the obsolete
East County’s only computer recycling center opens its doors
Shanda Tice / for the post
From left, Gresham Councilor Paul Warr-King, center director Ken Manske, and center volunteers Trish and Ray Norman display a few of the 150 computers they’ve already received at the Computer Recycling and Educational Center on Monday, Nov. 13.
Ken Manske knows an opportunity when he sees one. A chance meeting with a stranger at a Gresham cartridge store was no different. It has led to the first non-profit computer recycling center in Gresham, one that will funnel proceeds back into the community through the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Manske, who owns a small ad agency and runs it out of his home, was buying a new ink cartridge for his printer about a year ago when he bumped into Ray Norman. The two began talking about computer waste, or “e-waste.”
“It really bothered me that printers are getting so cheap now that some people, instead of buying a new ink cartridge, they’ll just throw their old printer out and buy a new one every time they run out of ink,” Manske said. “It’s so ridiculous, and I just thought, ‘What happens to all those old printers?’ ”
Norman told Manske he used to dismantle old computers and printers at an e-waste operation in the small Pennsylvania town where he lived before moving here.
“I guess that was a light bulb for me,” Manske said. “I started thinking about how we could do that here.”
The two men kept in touch. On Thursday, Nov. 16, after eight months and lots of planning and legwork, the Computer Recycling and Educational Center opened at 2020 E. Powell Blvd. in Gresham. The center is the only of its kind in the East Metro Area; the next closest is in Southeast Portland.
“We’re hoping this will give the people in Sandy a little closer option than going into Southeast Portland,” said receptionist Laura Myers.
About 70 percent of the heavy metals found in U.S. landfills comes from discarded electronics, according to 2002 statistics compiled by the Basel Action Network (BAN), a Seattle-based network of activists focused on stemming the tide of toxic waste worldwide. Many e-waste products contain toxic substances, including lead, cadmium, mercury and plastics.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 220 million tons of old computers and other hardware are trashed in the United States every year, and the majority of it ends up in landfills. The toxins can contaminate soil and groundwater.
At the new e-waste recycling center, Norman, his wife Trish, and a team of about 30 volunteers are hoping residents and businesses will think of them when it comes time to get rid of obsolete technology.
Except for a $12 fee to take monitors, all other drop-offs are donation only. The suggested donation for fax machines and scanners, for example, is $5.
The center will recycle the electronics, restore them and donate them to a good cause or use them for educational purposes.
Manske said he has talked to the Geek Squad at Gresham’s Best Buy about offering free community education classes. He also has talked to Mt. Hood Community College and Barlow High School about using the center for computer classes.
Meanwhile, Norman said he wants to reassure people that their personal information will be safely removed from any dropped-off hard drives. A simple software program wipes hard drives clean.
“It erases everything; it wipes it clean to government standards,” Norman said. “And we can give people a certificate of destruction.”
Computer shells and parts go to various recycling businesses around the Portland area. Motherboards are particularly profitable. Recently, Norman took 400 pounds of motherboards and processors to a Northeast Portland company and came back with a $300 check.
Volunteers also can benefit from the new center. Thirty or more volunteer hours will net them a restored, Internet-ready computer, thanks to a Microsoft grant.
A thrift store also is in the works, where restored and tested computers, printers, memory, copiers and more will be sold at 10 cents on the dollar.
“This has been a true collaboration of so many businesses and entities,” Manske said, noting that the organization’s space, furniture and other supplies have been donated. “The community has really come together on this. Now we just need people to know we’re here and drop off computers. We have
Data file
What: the Computer Recycling and Educational Center.
Where: 2020 E. Powell Blvd. There is no sign, but the building is right next to Big O Tires.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
Contact: 503-962-0615.