PCs for People Offers Full-Service Electronics Recycling While Delivering Technology to People and Communities, ASCDI Podcast

Telecom Reseller / Technology Reseller News

PCs for People Offers Full-Service Electronics Recycling While Delivering Technology to People and Communities, ASCDI Podcast “We're a full-service electronics recycler,” says Loren Williams of PCs for People. In this podcast, we learn how PCs for People is not only a full-service recycler but also a recycler making a difference for both sides of the recycling process. For the organization disbanding retired equipment, PCs for People offers a secure and convenient way to dispose of equipment. On the other side of the recycling process are people who receive a needed machine, ready to use. “The most recent study I saw is that 40% of low-income households in the United States today lack access to a computer and or affordable Internet access. And at PCs for People, we're working to change that.” “Our mission here is around digital equity and sustainability,” adds Williams. “So here's our impact last year. We were able to distribute 57,000 refurbished computers all across the United States. Because each computer supports more than one person, you can see we supported 140,000 individuals. This is just in 2023. We kept 6 million pounds of electronics out of landfills, and everything we collect stays out of landfills, even those computers we can't use. We'll harvest some parts, but we make sure that the rest of the computer gets responsibly recycled. And then a little bit about the demographics of our recipients, like 4.5 out of 10 or 45 out of 100 previously had not owned a computer. This is a significant achievement that we were talking about before, you know, that it's easy for a lot of people these days to just make an assumption everyone's got a computer.” Many readers and listeners of TR and many members of the ASCDI community might know Loren Williams from his days at Comdisco. Today, Loren applies his rich experience in the secondary market industry to helping people gain needed access to the digital revolution. “we will come out on-site as long as it's within a reasonable distance of one of our locations. And we'll pick up that equipment that's filling the closet, the hallway, the warehouse, the basement, the attic. We'll come in and pick it up with one of the trucks like this. There's no charge for the pickup. There's no charge for the data deletion service. There's no charge for the report about the data deletion that a lot of companies like in case they get audited.” Users get a computer that has a warranty and technical support. “That copy of Windows is not the donor's license. We have a relationship with Microsoft to be able to load Microsoft operating systems. And then we start the distribution process in our retail stores, on our website, where we ship anywhere in the country, and through partnerships with social service organizations and other nonprofits that are reaching low-income households.” Visit https://www.pcsforpeople.org/