Los Angeles City Council has refurbished and recycled a total of 8,000 Windows XP computers after completing an upgrade to Windows 7 systems. The upgrade, which took place in April, has rendered the Windows XP computers useless to the City but beneficial to nonprofit organizations.
The plan to refurbish and recycle these old computers was proposed by City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who determined it would be best to donate to nonprofit organizations serving disadvantaged communities. The City Council unanimously agreed with Blumenfield’s idea. Computers that could not be refurbished were recycled “responsibly” rather than sent to a landfill. More than half were able to be refurbished.
The program is also looking to leverage private sector donations so nonprofit organizations can continue to receive donated computers after the first 4,000 have been distributed. “This is an innovative solution that has involved multiple city agencies cooperating with one another,” Blumenfield said. “By thinking about the entire life cycle of our electronic devices, we can make strides in bridging the digital divide, benefit underserved communities and reduce our e-waste footprint.”
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Further reading: Microsoft, Windows XP
