Compucon encourages corporate customers to donate their used computer equipment to schools particularly those not properly funded for Information & Communication Technology infrastructure and teaching curriculum. Some schools are renting computer equipment that may be in their 4th, 5th or older years for a substantial amount. While the renting is a legal business transaction, some schools have been paying a lot more than they need to. Older computing equipment serves another use- training tools for our younger generation. A book has written that Michael Dell was impressed by what he saw of the inside of a PC in 1984 and the incidence inspired him to become a top business man out-selling other PC makers.

Compucon is happy to facilitate the donation and allocation process, and to arrange votes of public thanks to the donors in conjunction with the beneficiaries.

We are looking at a “disposal program” by which non working computing equipment can be disposed of in the most safe and economic manner.

Update 21 November 2008
Computerworld New Zealand has reported that Australia has launched its FIRST automated recycling plant for e-waste which will salvage up to 20,000 tonnes of IT equipment from landfill.  The Sims recycling plant, opened Wednesday in Sydney, will reduce monitors and circuit boards into basic components such aluminium, copper, silver and gold to be shipped to overseas sites for further processing.  We have the impression that New Zealand does not have this type of recycling plant yet at this stage.

Update 19 June 2010
Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith is reported on the New Zealand Reseller News as saying that "The Ministry does have serious concerns about the way in which the waste from eDay last year was exported without the proper permits."  The trust's recycling contractor has been charged with breaching electronic waste export regulations.  The company has been impacted financially and there were concerns it could go bankrupt before disposing of last year's waste. "If we are going to go through all that effort to collect all that e-waste, I think we need to have some confidence that it is being appropriately disposed of."

Dr Smith said he was interested in looking into whether New Zealand could mine its own e-waste instead of exporting it overseas. "It would be my preference that we're able to recycle and break down our e-waste in New Zealand, if it was at all possible."