ACU’s old computers breathe new life

Like a lot of people, we used to wonder what to do with our old computers and printers at ACU. That is, until we met Alvin Keppler and the other folks at Responsible Electronics Recycling (RER).

As part of ACU’s electronics recycling program, Keppler, a handful of RER staff and a dozen dedicated, computer-savvy volunteers accept our office electronics and give them a new life with families all over the province through their Computer Lending Library. What doesn’t get reused is recycled according to high environmental standards set by Electronics Product Stewardship Canada.

RER started collecting computers in 2006 and now has over 2,500 refurbished computers on loan to individuals, families and organizations who couldn’t otherwise afford a computer. “Our clients are not wealthy. They are university students, immigrant students, students from rural Manitoba, who have a tough enough time just trying to buy books, let alone a computer,” says Keppler.

As a bonus, a computer borrower is eligible for 40 hours of computer training. “People get jobs because of this training. It changes their lives.” Keppler says. The greatest joy comes after all the training is done and the new computer owners are taken into a room filled with every type of computer and told to just ‘pick one’. “When you see a single mother take 40 hours out of her life to take a course and then see how excited her kids are to have a computer in the house, it’s incredible.”

All of RER’s computers, which can be found in homes and non-profit offices from Sprague to Churchill, are well labeled with serial numbers and an RER sticker. When people are finished with their borrowed computer, they have to notify RER so it can be properly disposed of if it cannot be refurbished again.

Refurbishing computers that were once considered junk means less harmful e-waste in landfill sites. RER estimates it diverts about 800,000 pounds of e-waste every year.

“With nearly 600 employees at ACU, all requiring computer systems, this partnership is extremely important to us,” says Dennis Cunningham, ACU’s Manager of Environmental Sustainability. “In our first 18 months with RER, we were able to recycle approximately 180 computers, 130 monitors, 60 printers and saved more than 12,500 pounds of e-waste from the landfill to help reduce our environmental impact.”