FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Michelle Reardon

Wednesday, October 18, 2000

302/577-8701

Wilmington, DE - The first-ever Computer Recycling Fair will take place on Saturday, October 21, from noon to 6 p.m. in the parking lot of COMPUSA-Wilmington at the Concord Square Shopping Center (4211 Concord Pike).

A fun family event with clowns, balloons and more, the goal of the event is to promote recycling as a way to "Bridge the Digital Divide" and educate the community on the hazards of throwing away old computer parts. The Fair will seek to replicate the highly successful public-private electronics drop-off model deployed in California for residents of the Bay Area.

Delawareans will be able to drop off old computer equipment, including CPUs, laptops, monitors, printers, modems, mice, data storage devices and scanners. Monitors with broken or damaged glass cannot be accepted. Functional equipment will be culled out of the mix by Goodwill Industries for re-distribution to needy families. Non-functioning equipment will be dismantled for parts and re-manufacturing or recycled into constituent metal, plastic and glass raw material. COMPUSA-Wilmington and a number of its vendor partners, including Hewlett Packard, Sony, Apple and Compaq, will provide discount certificates and free product promotional samples. Drawings for free computers are also planned for equipment donors.

"The Digital Divide, the idea that computer and Internet access is not available in low income and rural communities, is all too real in Delaware," said Harold Stafford, Acting Director of the Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO). "Access to the Internet equals access to greater educational tools. The Computer Recycling Fair will help bridge the digital divide in Delaware. We hope that the computer parts that are collected today can be used to build several computers for Delaware families."

"More than 40 million computers become obsolete every year," Karley Barnes, Manager of DEDO's Green Industries Program said. "Electronic equipment, especially computer monitors, contain elements such as cadmium, lead and mercury which, if not properly managed, can become harmful to the environment. This Fair provides an excellent opportunity for Delawareans to clean out their closets and garages and also learn that their old computers have value to others."

Residents or Delaware businesses that have large quantities of obsolete equipment should contact the Computer Recycling Center at Goodwill Industries of Delaware at (302) 761-4640 to schedule a donation.

The Computer Recycling Fair is being sponsored by DEDO; the Delaware Solid Waste Authority, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III; COMPUSA-Wilmington; Goodwill Industries of Delaware, and WHYY, Inc. For more information on this and other environmental projects sponsored by DEDO's Green Industries Program, contact Karley Barnes at (302) 739-4271 or visit the web site at www.state.de.us/dedo.