What a sad waste!

[DennisN]

Being something of an idiot with tech stuff, I regularly buy new stuff, even though my old stuff isn't broken. So I end up with several new stuff thingies, half of which are not in use, albeit in good working order. Normally, I pass these on to family - grandchildren etc, who are grateful enough.

But this last weekend I decided I could no longer use my desk in the summerhouse, due to there being two printers in the way - a colour laser and an A3 inkjet.

So I got together the driver disks, installation posters, power and USB cables and rang the nearest British Heart Foundation furniture and electricals shop (rather than try to book a collection online). No thanks, we don't accept those sort of things because the electricals have to be tested. Huh! How can they be an electricals shop if they don't accept electrical stuff which has to be tested?

So I phoned my next door primary school. No thanks, it has to be tested.

So I took them down to the local recycling depot and pulled up alongside the "Computers and Monitors" shed. Take 'em up to the blue bin at the top, mate - that's chuck them noisily into an ordinary bulk waste container and hear them smash apart.
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Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

[M8TJT]

Give to a good cause? Seems like you can't even do that in this PC, verging on the lunatic state the country is getting into. Makes you want to weep. If they 'need testing' then damn well get them 'tested'

[aj2052]

Dennis do you not have a freecycle website in your area, i find it most usefull for clearing out items, also it is most surprising what people ask for and seem to get.
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Moto G5s Plus, Sygic 17.4.8

[DennisN]

Never heard of Freecycle. Wish I had and I'll look in future. Thanks a lot!
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Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

[xda]

[MaFt]

There are numerous Facebook groups for "Items for sale in XYZ Town" that could probably of taken it off your hands.

As for the testing my guess is they are referring to PAT testing. Well, seeing as ALL their equipment needs testing on an annual basis I don't see why that would be an issue. Worst-case scenario is they just did all their tests the day before so they'd have to wait 364 days until they could test it and use it.

As for BHF a friend of mine volunteered at one solely to do PAT testing for them. Surely they could simply put an advert in the window asking for volunteers to come in once a month and test the few electrical items that have been donated?

PAT testing, along with lots of other H&S stuff, really annoys me. Not because it's there - it makes sense to keep things safe. No, what annoys me is people's attitudes towards it, their lack of knowledge about what can/can't be done and the general consensus that H&S law actually forbids things. It doesn't. H&S In The Workplace reg's simply states that anything that is done must be done safely and you must be able to prove that it was done safely. So when McDonalds tells the mother of the screaming hungry child that they're not allowed to heat the jar of baby food 'because of health and safety' there's no specific H&S regulation that says 'you must not heat baby food for visitors'. The reg's simply say 'if you do something, do it safely'. A simple risk assessment can easily clear that up - yes it might mean silly signs on a microwave that state the obvious like 'follow manufacturers instructions for heating food', 'microwave only to be used for heating baby food', 'do not use metal objects in the microwave' and 'take care contents may be hot' - then McDonalds can stick a microwave out front for customers to use. The RA would also state the cleaning schedule for the microwave and also that it should be on the annual PAT test schedule. All perfectly legit with regards to H&S.

Rant over...

MaFt
(ex-H&S rep for Unison)

[Daggers]

Why not just put them on eBay? You could make some money out of this approach too, which you could then use to buy more new stuff (or if the conscience is nagging too much, donate the proceeds to charity).
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Garmin DriveSmart 50 LMT-D

[DennisN]

Thank you MaFt for some good sense about the testing policy stupidity (but I'll not be going to Facebook, spawn of the D).

Daggers, I'll not be going to eBay either - another spawn of the D.
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Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

[Kritou]

I've not tested this on Snopes yet, but I understand that unused/unopened pharmaceuticals can no longer be charitably donated overseas to the likes of Somalia as Brussels deems they are now "waste" and must go to landfill ........

[Andy_P]

Another BIG vote for Freecycle.

It's a brilliant idea... Despite the name it's actually re-use which is far greener than re-cycle

I've given away loads of stuff from wardrobes and bunk beds to overgrown aquarium plants, and even a big box of shredded paper packing material was snapped for hamster bedding.

I've also happily received quite a few things - ranging from a 35mm film scanner to an automatic cat feeder!

Quite often (like the film scanner) it's something you might need only once, so you use it for the job in hand and then Freecycle it on to someone else.
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"Settling in nicely" ;-)

[Anita]

I use it all the time too, although our local groups have now changed to Freegle. I didn't know why, but there's an explanation under History on the page linked to above, as well as a link to find your local group.

To be fair I'd better include a link to Freecycle too!
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Anita
TomTom VIA 135 - App 12.075
UK map 1130.12368
Samsung Galaxy S21

[MaFt]

[M8TJT]

[DennisN]

[Andy_P]

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