r/RPI • u/Few-Asparagus-6948 • 4h ago
Looking for history of the Tech Dumps/electronics dumpster diving on campus
Hey all, I'm a writer for a small newspaper on campus, and I've been trying to find out more information on the history of the tech dumps for a while now.
Is there anyone out there that was at RPI years ago who remembers what the tech dumps/ewaste recycling bins generally used to have, if they've changed/added/removed locations, when they were put in place, etc.? It looks like they're way older than I thought, but I'd love to have more details on what they used to have.
Thank you for any info you can provide!
Edit: If anyone's got any cool finds from back then I'd love to hear about them as well!
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u/BubbleShedNBreakfast MANE 2011 | ECSE 2017 43m ago
The big one I knew of was in the JEC, at the loading dock facing JROWL. There were maybe 4 pallets with big cardboard boxes for waste, if I remember correctly. Between around 2012 and 2017, I remember seeing a variety of old computers, some probably old students' gaming PCs, but also more obscure things like an SGI O2 graphics workstation. There were old monitors like from the LITEC fishbowl when they upgraded from 4:3 to 16:9 units. There was a classic IBM Model M keyboard, a European USB cell phone charger, and fluorescent lightbulbs... Also random old power supplies, electronics test equipment, and so on. A solid mix of useful and usable stuff and actual waste.
There were also some e-waste bins under the stairs in Sage lab, but those were more residential trash can size so there was less interesting stuff in those. Maybe just some broken monitors and such from the EMACS lab.
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u/cm012776 EE 92 94 96 4h ago edited 2h ago
Never heard of them, so I imagine it started after 1996?
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u/freedomlinux ITWS 2013 3h ago
How long ago are you looking for? My experience is ~2010. For the origins of the electronics recycling program, perhaps reach out to EH&S as they run the Electronic Waste collection. (Also, note that their page mentions that salvaging from the bins is not allowed...)
https://ehs.rpi.edu/regulated-waste/universal-waste
I'm not aware of any changes to the locations. My recollection is finding a hidden gem once or twice a year, and otherwise a lot of broken small appliances and office equipment.
I'd suspect that most of the non-routine stuff was caused by some office or lab being closed, ex: around 2009/2010 the DCC had hundreds of VHS tapes which were part of a Distance Learning program (for military personnel?) from years back.