Computer recycler joins growing trend.

Byline: Ilene Aleshire The Register-Guard

A Eugene computer thrift store is celebrating the new year by quadrupling its space, expanding its retail offerings, and pumping up its online sales.

"Right now, everything is so cramped, there really isn't the opportunity to look at stuff," said Lorraine Kerwood, founder and executive director of the Computer Reuse and Recycling Center. The center opened the thrift store last year, to fund the nonprofit's twofold mission of providing computers to people who can't afford new ones and keeping computers out of the waste stream.

When more space became available in the center's building at 222 Polk St., Kerwood pounced. The store expansion - from 375 square feet to 1,450 square feet - offers multiple opportunities, she said.

"We want to expand the hardware we have available, and be able to accommodate more of the hobbyists looking to build their own computers or upgrade. We can carry a lot more tested parts, have them displayed a lot more conveniently. We'll have more space for printers and scanners," she said. "We've had a lot of contacts from the community saying 'We want more stuff.' '

The "more stuff" that Kerwood plans to offer won't be just computers and computer parts. "Because we're expanding we're now taking stereos, clocks, radios, cell phones, cell phone chargers, pretty much anything you plug in or that runs on batteries, except TVs."

The expanded store also means more storage for online sales items, Kerwood said. The center now has its own web site - www.lanecrrc.org - and recently began venturing into online selling, she said. Items on the web site include a mouse for $2 and 233 MHz Bondi Blue iMacs for $49.

The additional space means the total rent for the center and thrift store, which will occupy a total of 10,887 square feet, will go up $860 a month, to $4,150. But, Kerwood said, she's hoping the additional sales will not only pay for the increased rent but also allow the agency to hire a part-time sales assistant. She currently has 100 volunteers, three full-time staff people and one part-timer.

Operations like Kerwood's are still relatively rare, said Debi Hildenbrand at FreeGeek in Portland, which Kerwood modeled her organization after. But, Hildenbrand said, computer recycling outfits are definitely a growing trend. "We get at least four to five e-mails a day" from people interested in starting one, she said.

Computer recycling centers offer businesses a safe place to dispose of older computers as they replace them with newer models, she said. At the same time, this keeps toxic electronic products out of landfills and helps low-income people either buy inexpensive computers or receive them free in exchange for volunteering at the recycling center. "We help the needy get nerdy," she said.

Kerwood said she's hoping to open the expanded thrift store on Jan. 12, while keeping the existing operation going in the meantime.

"People will still have the opportunity to shop, it just won't be as convenient."

CAPTION(S):

Lorraine Kerwood, founder of Computer Reuse and Recycling Center, has expanded beyond expectations. Recycled computer mice await new homes at the downtown Eugene Computer Reuse and Recycling Center.