Recompute is a desktop computer created to address
each phase of its life cycle, from design and manufacture to use and
eventual disposal, and seeks to counteract that damaging effects of
conventional computer design through innovative design and use of
renewable materials that make recycling simple at the end of its
useful life.
Let’s face it: the average lifetime of a
desktop computer is three to five years. Recycling a computer is not
like recycling a soda can or a beer bottle. Computers are complex
objects composed of many different types of materials: plastics and
metals in the case, copper, mercury, and cadmium in the processors,
chips, and circuit board. In order to recycle a computer, it has to
be dismantled and each material must be recycled separately. With the
cost of labor and energy required to dismantle each computer and
properly recycle its materials, more often than not, the computers
end up in a giant mountain in a landfill.
Think about it this way: there are millions and
millions of dead computers taking up space in landfills, leeching
toxins into the ground, that will take thousands of years to break
down. If each car got just one more mile to the gallon, or if one
fewer paper coffee cup was used and thrown in the trash, that would
add up to a great savings of resources. And that’s what
Recompute is all about.
Recompute began as a student thesis at the University
of Houston’s industrial design program to address what is know
as Full Life Cycle Design: design that acknowledges that each item
has a birth, a useful life, and an eventual death, and takes into
account an efficient and environmentally-responsible disposal. We
know we aren’t going to keep our computers for much longer than
five years, and yet most hardware companies design their computers to
last hundreds of years past their useful lives, causing needless
waste and environmental damage. The design fulfills the demand for
no-nonsense hardware that provides minimal environmental impact.
Recompute desktop
computers are manufactured by hand in Houston, Texas, from
locally-sourced cardboard and non-toxic glues. Corrugated cardboard
ventilates naturally, keeping the insides of the computer cool, and
is treated with a non-toxic fire retardant. Each Recompute is sold
ready to be used out of the box, with minimal bells and whistles, A
minimum of eight USB ports, a power cord, RAM, a processor, and maybe
a cool screenprinted design across the front. Use with the keyboard,
mouse, and monitor you have lying around your house. When it’s
time to say goodbye to your Recompute, simply dismantle the casing
with your bare hands, separate the cardboard from the boards and
chips, and send each piece down its proper recycling stream. Or send
the whole thing back to Recompute and we’ll take care of it.
