Saving the world PC by PC

Team

Parikshit Bohra – Mechatronics Engineering (UCT)
Ziyaad Jassiem – Electrical and Computer Engineering (UCT)

Concept

To utilise a full old computer, ie CRT monitor and PC tower, with minimal wastage.

The Motivation

As computer technology progresses, the current hardware quickly becomes obsolete and this wouldn’t be such a big problem if these products were recyclable. The past decade has seen the advance of the LCD and LED displays to such an extent that the older cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors are rarely seen while the Personal Computer (PC) box continues to be upgraded every couple years. This has led to an excess of two products that no longer serve much purpose and thus the disposal of these only fuel the rapid growth of landfills.

The Idea

To transform old outdated desktop PCs into everlasting valuable household items. Old CRT monitors can be converted into a variety of trendy pet habitats such as fish tanks, hamster-cages and birdhouses to name a few. The challenge would be make the monitors look fun and attractive and safe for pets to inhabit.

On the other hand, the desktop towers can easily be re-wired into fully operational dedicated server machines, for use in household networks and small businesses. These servers can be used to access the Local Area Network (LAN), which can subsequently be used for multimedia and internet use or even database storage in a small business.
The internal components will also be recycled, that is, active parts will be reused to recondition the towers, while a further possibility is to re-use the inactive parts which can be melted to obtain various metals, which may be used in numerous ways. This is to implement a Zero Wastage policy.

Business Feasibility

Since South Africa does not have any legal framework which deals specifically with e-waste, this technique of recycling e-waste (re-engineering outdated technology) promises to be one of the most economically and technically sound methods.

A mutual deal can be established with the e-waste Association of South Africa (Ewasa) for the supply of old desktops, in return for financial support of this non-profit organization.

Therefore a tiny bit of innovation, a tiny bit of art and a tiny bit of technique will yield products that are eco-friendly, trendy and most importantly give back to the South African economy.