Donate
In addition to electronics, we also accept donations of actual currency
:)
You can use the button to the right to donate online via PayPal, or drop something into our donation jar at our facility.
General Information
Hours
We are open 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, and 10 to 5 on Saturdays. We are closed on Sundays, and for most major holidays.
Location
ACCRC
620 Page Street
Berkeley, California, 94710 [map]
Contact
Phone: (510) 528-4052
Fax: (510) 528-4053
Email: info@accrc.org
Non-Profit
We are a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Tax ID 68-0395504.
E-Waste Collector
We are approved by the California Integrated Waste Management Board as an e-waste collector. Our CEWID is 100285.
Other Location
We also have a sister facility in Novato, the Marin Computer Resource Center.
Directions
From I-80 traveling north, take the University Ave. exit veering right and downward at the first 'Y' and then to the left and under the overpass at the 2nd 'Y'. Go straight through the Hearst St intersection and follow the Eastshore Hwy frontage road. Turn right on Page Street and travel one block. ACCRC is on the right on the corner of Page St. and Second St.
From I-80 traveling south, take the Gilman St. exit and turn left onto Gilman St. and then right immediately onto the Eastshore Hwy frontage road. Turn left on Page Street and travel one block. ACCRC is on the right on the corner of Page St. and Second St.
From San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley, travel west on Cedar St. toward I-80 and the bay and turn right when you reach the Eastshore Hwy frontage road. Turn right on Page Street and travel one block. ACCRC is on the right on the corner of Page St. and Second St.
Media Attention
- CNN Heroes(July 2007)
- Wired.com - Cuba project (May 2002)
- Ryan is Hungry (May 2007)
- Vintage Tech-VCF 5.0 (2002)
- LXer (July 2007)
- Wired magazine (July 1997)
- SFGate-Tatooed Freak (June 2005)
- CIWMB-RMDZ Story (March 2007)
- City of Berkeley-Press Release (Jan 2004)
- EPA Award (April 2006)
- O'Reilly Radar (April 2007)
- CalMAX (Fall 1999)
- Bill Moyers Now (July 2002)
- Federal Network for Sustainability (May 2002)
- Barbara Lee Congratulates Enviromental Honorees (April 2006)
- Linux Journal (April 2002)
- G4 TechTV Vault(June 2002)
- ZD Net-Rupert Goodwin's Diary (7/1/04)
Fees
We accept cash or check.
| All Monitors & TVs with source info: | FREE* |
| Flatpanel Displays: | FREE |
| Monitors & TVs without source info: | $0.50 per pound** |
| Computers: | FREE |
| Laptops: | FREE |
| Cell Phones/PDAs/Cameras: | FREE |
| Small Printers, Scanners, Fax: | $3.00 |
| Large Printers (floor height): | $25.00 |
| Copiers (desktop): | $3.00 |
| Copiers (floor height): | $25.00 |
| Audio/Visual Equipment: | $3.00 |
| Uninterruptible Power Supply: | $3.00 |
| Large, Unusual, or Unlisted Items: | $1.00 |
| Keyboards, cables, small accessories: | $1.00 |
| Hard Drive Wipe/Degaussing: | $25.00 per drive |
| Microwaves: | $3.00 |
| Pick-Up Within the City of Berkeley: | FREE |
| BayArea Pick-Up (truck): | $250.00 or FREE with 25 or more monitors/TVs |
| BayArea Pick-Up (van): | $100.00 |
*Free Monitor & TV (CRT) Recycling
California's Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 pays us to recycle your monitors and TVs (CRTs) at no charge if they are from California.
**Out of State CRTs are not qualified for free recycling
We charge $.50 per pound for:
1. Monitors & TVs (CRTs) from outside of California
2. Monitors & TVs (CRTs) received from other collectors that do not have California source informaton, which is the name & address of the users of the CRTs.
***Pickups
We will come to your location and pick up your electronic equipment. If you are located in Berkeley, we do not charge a pick-up fee. For the rest of the Bay Area, we charge $100 for a vanload and $250 for a truckload. We will waive the pick-up fee for any truckload that contains 25 or more monitors and/or TVs.
If you would like to schedule a pickup, please call us at (510) 528-4052.
Please note:
We do not accept large household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, etc.
We no longer accept magnetic media such as CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, floppy discs, etc.
Also, in the case of smaller food-related electronics, we may refuse some items for reasons of hygiene (in other words, 'no really gross stuff').
Announcements
Holiday Hours Schedule
Happy Thanksgiving! We will be closed for the whole four day weekend.
Merry Christmas! We will close early on Christmas Eve (1PM) and stay closed for Christmas Day.
Ring in the New Year! We will close early on New Year's Eve (1PM) and stay closed for New Year's Day
Toxic Redemption
The 'Skullpture' rises! Our latest example of our obsession for diverting material from the waste stream
We have moved around the corner!
We have moved to 620 Page St, at the corner of 2nd St. in Berkeley, just behind the papershredding service. We are now just one block north and one block east from our old location. [map]
We regret that we must charge minimal fees to recycle some items
Although we prefer not to ask for any recycling fees, recent economic changes have made it necessary to charge small fees for some items. These fees ensure that the electronics you entrust to ACCRC for recycling are treated safely, correctly and responsibly.
Although it cost a little more, our electronics are NOT exported for treatment in countries with low environmental standards. Instead we send all our unrefurbishable electroncs to a bay area metals refinery which processes scrap electronics by shredding and separating the components, ferrous metals (steel), copper and precious metals, aluminum, and plastic. The steel and aluminum are recycled as metals, the plastic is recycled as plastic, and the copper and precious metals are sampled, prepared, and packaged for shipment to a primary copper smelter.
Got old computers or other electronics?
We'll take it! We will recycle anything that you can plug into a power outlet. This means we will recycle your computer, VCR, television, copy machine, and even your microwave and toaster, but not your large appliances such as a washing machine or refrigerator. When you give us your computer, you will receive a tax write-off, and we will attempt to fix your equipment and then give it away to someone who is unable to afford to buy a computer. If we are unable to reuse your equipment, it will be recycled in an environmentally friendly manner.
To donate your equipment, simply bring it to us during our open hours. No appointment is needed. Nothing is too old or too broken. Some fees may apply for certain types of material, degaussing and for non-local pick-ups.
Know someone who needs a computer?
We give free refurbished computers to schools, non-profit organizations, and economically and/or physically disadvantaged individuals. Although our computers are all old enough that they were discarded by their previous owners, the ones that we refurbish are still perfectly adequate for most home, school, and office applications. Our refurbished systems all run a Free software GNU/Linux operating system.
To apply for one or more computers, please print one of our three placement applications:school, non-profit, or individual, and then fax, mail, or bring us the completed form.
Want to volunteer?
We are always looking for volunteers to help us sort and palletize electronics. While helping us with this vital operation, you can learn how to identify various types of electronic equipment.
If you would like to volunteer, call us at 510-528-4052 or send an email to info@accrc.org to learn more.
You can gain more detailed hands-on experience with computers, by joining our Computer Refurbishment Program. You don't have to know anything about computers to join; you can learn! You can learn how to fix, how to break, and how to identify computer parts, pieces, bits, and doodads. You may also learn about Suse and/or Ubuntu GNU/Linux.
Please note that our Computer Refurbishment Program is currently in transition to a new location. In the meantime, please send us an email at info@accrc.org so we can keep you posted on our progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you do with this stuff?
If your equipment is in working or easily repairable order, we will fix it and place it with a charity, non-profit, school, or low-income or disabled individual somewhere on the planet Earth. If we cannot reuse the equipment, we will disassemble it and send the base elements off to approved, environmentally friendly secondary recyclers. Cathode ray tubes are smelted, allowing the lead to be removed from the glass so that both can be recycled. Circuit boards are ground up so that a number of different metal recovery processes can be used to reclaim the various nasty alloys that are in them.
Why do you do this?
Computers affect us all. For those of us well versed in the digital arts, the computer can be a tool for good. But for those who do not have access to technology nor to a computer of their own, the digital world can be a complete abyss of terror and confusion. It may be cliche to speak about the digital divide, but there's really no other way to describe the gap between the digital haves and the compu-havenots. We must bridge the divide.
We serve the public by refurbishing used computer equipment for which businesses, corporations, and individual donors no longer have a use.
What about my old data?
When you donate your computer to us, you are also giving us any information that is on your hard drive, floppy disks, or CD's. It is not our policy to go traipsing around other people's hard drives looking for pictures of their penguins in burlap shorts, but we cannot be certain that your data will be safely hidden from prying eyes... unless you ask us to destroy your data at the time of recycling. Here are your options:
- Do nothing
- Doing nothing means that you do not care who sees your data. This allows us to simply reformat the drive and use it in a rebuilt computer.
- Format the drive yourself
- Formatting a hard drive is not perfect, but it is generally enough to ensure that most folks won't be able to read your old data. The disk will remain in working order and we will be able to format it a second time and use it in a rebuilt computer. However, formatting your hard drive might require you to consult with a geek for help.
- If you want to format your drives, here are a couple tools that may be useful. WARNING! Use them at your own risk. If they work as advertised, (they do) they will irrevocably destroy your data. These are freeware data destruction applications for use on AMD/Intel/new Macs. They will not work on older macs or esoteric hardware.
- DBAN Floppy Use this if your system boots from a floppy.
- DBAN CD Use this if your system boots from CD.
- Pay us to either wipe or degauss your drive
- For a fee (see sidebar), we will completely wipe your hard drive and install a fresh operating system so your hard drive can be reused. If the hard drive cannot be wiped, it will be degaussed.
- We have a giant degausser. It is basically a metal box with massive electromagnets inside. When we turn it on, the magnets are switched on and off in a cyclical fashion, creating a magnetic field around the box that will destroy anything that uses magnetic memory. As such, using our degausser is the most effective and permanent way to remove your data from this mortal coil. It is perfectly all right for you to remove your drive yourself before you arrive. Degaussing a drive renders it useless. After we degauss your hard drive, we cannot use it in a rebuilt computer.
Household Electronics Pick-Up Service
Free pick-up service for Berkeley residents.
If you reside in Berkeley, we will come pick up your household electronics and will not charge a pick-up fee. Call us at 528-4052 if you have any questions or would like to schedule a pick-up of your encroaching computers and other electronic stuff.