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Published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on May 10, 2000. All rights reserved.

Spinning Junked Computers Into Gold

E-mail: BarbaraFox@princetoninfo.com

The computer recycling business changes by the month.

Corporations and not-for-profits are getting more efficient at finding

ways to recycle electronic equipment and keep it out of the waste

stream. Two organizations lead the field in central New Jersey, the

for-profit ROEC (Recycled Office Equipment Company) and the not-for-profit

Trenton Waste Exchange (which has just tripled its hours of operation).

But the recycling field in general is wide open for would-be entrepreneurs.

Bill Mischlich of ROEC works only with businesses, not individuals

(609-208-0559; fax, 609-259-5499). If you work for a company cluttered

with extra equipment, his Robbinsville-based firm can help you clean

out your office, and if you have a dream of starting your own company,

it might even be able to lend you a computer to help fulfill that

dream.

In addition to computers and monitors ROEC handles fax machines, printers,

telephone equipment, desks, copy machines, shredding machines, file

cabinets, chairs, and related equipment. This business is for profit,

but Mischlich donates a percentage of what he gets to charity.

"I make offers and appraise equipment to recycle it," says

Mischlich. "We can tell small companies what the price is or go

in and make an offer. We upgrade and test everything before we sell

it, or we take it back if it malfunctions."

Mischlich, formerly a technical specialist for AT&T, started out in

the give-away business as a volunteer with Telephone Pioneers and

became an experienced appraiser. His services include purchasing,

refurbishing, and recycling surplus or outdated equipment, including

erasing all of your company’s data and software from your computers,

reformatting the drives, reloading basic software, and correcting

computer malfunctions. He offers appraisal and CPA services to help

verify the tax credit. He can help identify a nonprofit or charitable

recipient and take care of the moving chores.

"If you are a new company and don’t have any money I will loan

you a low-end Pentium," says Mischlich. "If you reach a point

where you can pay me you pay me. If not, you guarantee to me that

you will help someone else down the road." Though it took 11 attorneys

to write the contract for one big business, most of the time he does

business on a handshake.

His unusual business plan involves taking donations from two major

telecommunications firms that insist on anonymity. Instead of being

paid with cash to take these computers through the recycling process,

he is paid with machines. He gets to keep 40 percent of the machines

sent to him. From 20 to 30 percent of what is donated ends up being

used for parts. The result — 40 of every 100 donated machines

are used for schools and charities. They can be donated directly —

or they can be sold to buy CPUs and software for other donated machines.