Want to join the movement? Recycle your computers for free with PCs for People.
In 2020, PCs for People’s Chief Innovation Officer Bryan Mauk was connected with Taras Szmagala of Eaton Corporation. Through Eaton’s commitment to bridge the digital divide and support racial equity, Taras connected PCs for People with the Greater Cleveland Partnership.
Together the organizations put together a campaign to help local Cleveland businesses make a significant environmental and community impact, at no cost to them. Typically, companies replace their computer devices every 3-5 years, which feeds into the 40 million tons of electronic waste created every year. That’s like throwing away 800 laptops every second. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Cleveland residents with low income have no computer or internet access at home, limiting their ability to access employment, education, healthcare, and more.
What Eaton, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, and PCs for People hoped to achieve was to bring awareness to a solution to both of these issues. By recycling your computers with PCs for People, you can join thousands of other businesses across the country that put their retired technology to good use. Your devices will be assessed, data-sanitized, and then recycled (zero-landfill) or refurbished and provided to families, individuals, and nonprofits in need.
The campaign was launched in June 2020 and was highly successful, reaching thousands of people across the city and state, and supporting the collection of about 13,000 computers. Not only did this effort keep e-waste out of landfills, but those computers were also refurbished to high quality and distributed to over 9,000 people (including over 4,000 children!) to support digital inclusion.
From all of us at PCs for People, GCP, and Eaton, we thank the 100+ businesses who helped us make a difference these past two years. But we’re not done yet! We are making progress in bridging the digital divide, but we still need your help. Please learn more about recycling your e-waste with PCs for People and schedule a pickup here. We look forward to working with you!
