In The News

ASTROO TOO, ELECTRONIC WHOLESALERS IN THE NEWS

May 30, 10:26 PM

Recyclers salvage discarded computers

Component resale booms as businesses and hobbyists alike seek cheaper parts

By Brian Monroe
FLORIDA TODAY

It watches you drive in and out of your garage or rummage through your closet with its giant eye.

 

By the numbers . . .

175 million Obsolete computers that sit in the nation's warehouses, garages and closets. 650 million Pounds of lead from computers and electronic gadgets bound for landfills, along with 987,000 pounds of cadmium, 231,000 pounds of mercury and 2 billion pounds of plastic. 3 million Recycled computers that became obsolete last year. 21 million Computers that became obsolete last year that were not recycled.

RecycledPCParts.com

For years, it coursed with electricity -- solving problems and helping people work, play or explore the new medium called the World Wide Web.

Now, it's gathering dust and cobwebs on a shelf or buried under a pile of other discards. If it could speak, it would mimic the words of a battered Megatron, the Decepticon leader from "Transformers: the Movie," after his warriors jettisoned him in space: "I still function."

It is your old computer -- made obsolete by processor-hungry and memory-heavy software programs.

Day by day, its value drops while you decide where it will rest: the landfill or hacked for spare parts.

Experts say a similar situation exists for millions of older personal computers in Florida and thousands in Brevard County.

An estimated 500 million PCs will become obsolete through 2007, according to iSuppli/Stanford Resources in San Jose, Calif., a research and marketing firm that follows the technology industry. Meanwhile, the average life span of a PC has steadily declined from 4.5 years in 1992 to roughly 2.8 years recently.

The result of that scenario is twofold.

Businesses that specialize in refurbishing and recycling old computers say they have returned to pre-Sept. 11, 2001, revenue levels and are poised for additional growth as companies seek cheaper components in a soggy economy.

On the flip side, more of those old computers and other electronic devices aren't getting a second chance at life, because people don't know there are alternatives to junking them or they are too lazy to do the right thing.

About 80 percent of discarded computers were thrown into landfills in 2002, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And that bodes ill, because components such as keyboards and, more importantly, monitors contain trace amounts of lead.

Each computer monitor contains between 1 and 6 pounds of lead, a toxin linked to brain damage, in its radiation absorbing cathode ray tube.

But, if disposed of properly, very little must go to waste, according to such computer-savvy business people as Roger Bentley, chief executive of Astro Too & Electronic Wholesalers in West Melbourne.

Astro Too buys or agrees to haul away electronics from businesses that have upgraded to a new computer system or have discontinued an outdated product line.

"There is not much that doesn't get used," said Bentley, who specializes in fixing and reselling computers or breaking them down and selling the parts.

Other companies can go a step further, separating systems into various metals, plastics and circuits and crushing them into raw materials to be used for future computers or electronics.

With local technology companies such as Harris Corp., JDS Uniphase and Northrop Grumman making almost quarterly hardware deposits at Bentley's business in West Melbourne, profits and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand.

"Our business has been quite good," Bentley said. "Before the economy went sour, we were approaching $300,000 in sales."

Scouring for parts
Now, sales are soaring again as companies and consumers are looking for cheaper ways to repair computers.

Bentley equates his business to part auto junkyard, part electronics boneyard. Customers can scour for a specific, hard-to-find component or browse to see whether something catches their interest -- the lure of the incurable hobbyist.

Roughly 85 percent of his business comes from walk-ins. The remainder is generated from auctions he conducts on E-Bay and orders he receives on his Web site.

Bentley rebuilds some systems to sell them. He gives others away to places such as the Salvation Army, which can use them or give them to someone who, perhaps, needs a simple, no-frills computer and printer to update a resume and search online for a new job.

Other uses are more creative, Bentley said.

Useless 5-inch floppy drives have good motors that are perfect for the head or steering controls of a remote-controlled robot.

Old motherboards become the brains for other electronic devices.

Older modems have been implanted into rudimentary, two-way digital radios.

Certain industries, loathe to upgrade, still use 286 and 386 computers -- pre-Pentium processors that ran at speeds of 16 and 33 megahertz, a fraction of today's PCs that run in the gigahertz -- because the software won't run on newer hardware.

Bentley said the nuclear industry still needs parts for such "robust" systems, because they no longer are manufactured.

"A lot of parts are used," he said. "But, they still have a useful life. They are built to last 30 or 40 years. We have radios and communications equipment from World War II that still works."

A cornerstone of Bentley's quick financial rebound is its inventory, which he can get cheap. Sometimes, PCs are left on the business' doorstep late at night.

'Exploding industry'
The ability to get components at bargain-basement prices is luring others to the computer-recycling industry, said James Wood, chief executive of RecycledPCparts.com Inc. in Miami.

"This is an exploding industry," he said. "There are 11 million PCs in closets in Florida alone."

The most dangerous thing about computer recycling is that, "people might rush to get in and price their services below costs and go bankrupt," Wood said. "It's just like any other business, if you don't move your product in and move it out properly, you will close. There is no money in storage."

Wood said he processes 10,000 pieces of computer equipment every month and revenues could exceed $1 million for the year -- a far cry from when he started selling components out of his garage in 1998.

Disposal vs. dump
Why do people continue to let old computers gather dust in a closet or garage?

"People ignore them," Wood said, "the same way they don't change their oil, buy new tires or maintain the air conditioner for optimum efficiency."

How to compel people to properly dispose of a computer rather than dump it in a trash heap is not as clear-cut.

"The problem is, cities and counties don't have the budget to pay for recycling, because it's not free," he said. "The $64,000 question is: Who will pay to recycle the computer in your closet?"

In the short term, cities and counties need to "reject this type of equipment from the landfill," Wood said. "In the long term, maybe there should be a federal disposal fee, similar to when you buy tires. You pay a small fee when you buy your computer and that goes toward recycling."

Ecological impact
But there always are those who try to skirt the law, resulting in a darker side for components improperly disposed of, said Paul Semenza, executive vice president of iSuppli/Stanford Resources, the market-research firm.

Several months ago, an environmental group found some companies were taking bulk electronics thought to be recycled and shipping them to countries such as China and Pakistan. Once there, children -- cheap labor -- ripped open circuit boards and toner cartridges to resell spoonfuls of useful material.

Pictures showed some of the computers came from cities and schools in the United States.

"It was a public-relations nightmare," Semenza said.

"Now major manufacturers like Dell Hewlett-Packard and IBM have their own recovery facilities, where they break down computers and shred them," he added. "If you want to sell a set of new computers to a corporate client, you have to take care of the old ones, either by your company or a reputable third-party system."

'A lot more stuff'
And when you do things right, there is a lot of room to grow, said Scott Shaw, sales manager for Astro Marketing, which distributes new and refurbished integrated circuits, diodes and transistors from its West Melbourne business. In recent years, its computer-recycling sector has jumped from 2 percent to 20 percent.

"That's really a growing market niche," he said. "Unfortunately, in some cases, it's because so many tech companies are going out of business."

On the scrap side of his business, Shaw regularly gets equipment from Harris, Northrop Grumman and Rockwell Collins. Sometimes. he buys at cheap prices. But mostly he is given equipment in hopes the pieces will be sold for parts or reborn in a hobbyist's creation.

"I am just a helping hand in making these companies environmentally safe with the contaminants in PC components," Shaw said. "I can get a lot more stuff, but it's just a lot of work to tear it down. We have baskets of wire, PC boards and transformers -- you name it."

    The businessmen, Fritz Braun and Roger Bentley,
said their "Harm Away Mailbox" kills bacteria and viruses -- including the
much-talked-about anthrax spores -- with ultraviolet light and ozone from
inside the mailbox. Each mailbox contains three internal ultraviolet light
sources, which create and surround a letter or parcel with
bacteria-killing ozone gas.

    So far, no manufacturers have offered to
mass-produce the mailbox, nor have any retailers said they want to sell
it. The inventors estimate the mailbox would cost $300 to $400.

    The mailbox "is something very affordable for
the amount of comfort it gives to people knowing that their mail is safe,"
Bentley said.

    Gary Sawtelle, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal
Service, said he was unaware of the Harm Away Mailbox, or any other
anthrax-killing mail device on the retail market. The only mail now that's
irradiated to kill the anthrax spores are those packages and letters going
into Washington, D.C., Sawtelle said.

    In the months after the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, there were 11 reported cases of inhaled anthrax and five deaths.

    Although the inventors said they sent a letter
describing the product to the U.S. Postmaster Gen. John E. Potter, they
are still waiting for a reply.

FIRM RECYCLES COMPUTERS

Published by Florida Today Newspaper on July 6, 2000

West Melbourne's Astro Too finds new uses for out-of-date high-tech equipment.

West Melbourne 'Junkyard for Computer Parts' Expects Sales to Soar

By Sean Hao, Florida Today

Row after row, what once was the latest in personal computing sits stacked, collecting dust in a warehouse that's part-museum, part-junkyard. Electronic Wholesalers, or Astro Too as it's more commonly known, is where many PCs and other outdated electronic devices, including fax machines and printers, go to die, and sometimes be reborn within some hobbyist's project.

"We're kind of the junkyard for computer parts," said Roger Bentley, chief executive for Astro Too, at 6949 W. NASA Blvd. in West Melbourne. The Store, which employs five people, serves as a halfway house of sorts, taking in or buying just about any electronic device. They're either refurbished, if salvageable, or disassembled and resold for parts. In this way, trash is turned into cash, and outdated, non-degradable computers are recycled and kept out of landfills, if only temporarily. Astro Too's low-cost inventory, coupled with its niche market, should allow sales growth of more than 30 percent to more than $300,000 this year, Bentley said. About 15 percent of the company's sales come from the Internet, where Astro Too sells some of its inventory at online auction house eBay. And with more PCs landing on the scrap heap every day, Bentley's supply seems limitless.

An estimated 500 million PCs will become obsolete from 1997 through 2007, according to Stanford Resources Inc. in San Jose, Calif. Meanwhile, the average life span of a PC has steadily declined from 4.5 years in 1992 to 2.8 years this year. So how does today's fast PC become a dinosaur in only a few short years?

The NASA Boulevard store takes in or buys just about any electronic device, then refurbishes it or sells it for parts. Astro Too also sells part of its inventory on the Internet.

Experts said the shorter life spans are a result of computer makers introducing ever-faster computers with greater capabilities, and the growing system requirements of operating system requirements of operating systems such as Microsoft Windows. The strong economy, and growth in disposable income, also may be a factor by allowing consumers to buy new computers more frequently.

Astro Too turns outdated personal computers into profits. Meanwhile, many older computers remain stocked away in basements and cellars, or get thrown out, but even the trash collector is getting picky these days. Monitors, which can contain lead, and printed circuit boards, which can contain mercury, cadmium and other potentially harmful chemicals, are increasingly being turned away from trash dumps. But they're all welcome at Astro Too. Charitable groups, including the Salvation Army and Goodwill, also take in used computers and sell them at a deep discount. The value of the computers given to these groups is tax-deductible.

"Your typical first-time computer buyer is going to be replacing it every few years, but the components are built to last 30 to 40 years," Bentley said. "We find some use for everything."

Key to the company is its inventory, which it gets cheap. How cheap? Sometimes dead PCs are left on the business's doorstep late at night, Bentley said. Other times, Astro Too buys or agrees to haul away electronics directly from businesses that have upgraded to a new computer system, or have discontinued an outdated product line. He said Astro Too will take in just about any electronic device, working or non-working, including monitors, which it has to pay to discard.

"We'll take it as a service to the community, and then we'll go through it to see if there's anything that we can use," Bentley said.

The company also repairs electronics from customers wanting to keep their devices working.

As more businesses turn to leasing computers, the need to recycle is only expected to grow. Already, companies like Gateway have invested in expensive machinery that can break down printed circuit boards into recyclable material, said Paul Semenza, vice president for market research at Stanford Resources. Other major PC makers are expected to follow suit.

That will make life challenging for smaller recyclers that don't have the resources to purchase the proper equipment to recycle computer parts properly, Semenza said.

Recycling computers "is a growing opportunity, but it's going to be harder for the smaller players to make a go of it," he said. "The economics are driving it toward larger-scale businesses."

Astro Too's 12,000-square-foot warehouse brims with equipment such as CD-ROM drives, dot-matrix printers and old fax machines, which sell for $25 or more. A 100-megahertz Pentium computer, minus monitor, sells for $200, and older PCs with 486 processors for less than that.

Other rows contain equipment, including electric meters, generators, power supplies, and components including diodes, capacitors, transistors and integrated circuits in what's perhaps the Home Depot for anyone serious about electronics. Its computers come with whatever software was installed when Astro Too took it over.

To help extend the lives of older, less capable PCs, companies like NewDeal Inc. in Somerville, Mass., sell operating systems that provide an alternative to Microsoft Windows that's cheaper and has lower system requirements. For $69.95, NewDeal Office Web Suite provides Internet access, Web browsing and e-mail capability for a range of computers, including older 286s and Pentium III-based PCs.

Bentley said Astro Too's customers roughly fall into one of three categories: hobbyists, professionals and inventors.

One of the latter, Scott Lewit, president for Compsys in Melbourne, has purchased several used computer components from Astro Too for use at his company, which makes prefabricated boat hulls. These parts were used to help build a computer-controlled system that monitors and control the process used to make the company's composite parts.

"There's an incredible amount of stuff there," Lewit said. "For the do-it-yourselfer, it's great."