By Gregory Walsh

I admit that I put off writing this particular recycling story until I could get all those computers out of my basement. I figured that when word gets out that Cape residents can unload their computers almost any day for free at the town transfer station there would be a stampede of old computers headed that way and I, once again, would be the last one in line.

It really is true. Thanks to a fast spreading joint effort by Dell Inc. and Goodwill Industries, Cape’s transfer station has become a collection point for old computers and computer monitors. Residents can bring in these items during normal hours whenever the transfer station is open. Cape is among the newest of hundreds of designated-collection points for this program in key municipal areas around the country.

“It’s something rather new for us,” said Bob Malley, director of public works for the town of Cape Elizabeth. “Previously we collected old computers during our e-waste days twice each year, but now we are able to do this on a daily basis.” Goodwill Industries, for its part, has scheduled pickups at Cape twice a week.

Dell, a Texas-based maker of personal computers, reports that it collected 102 million pounds of cast-off computer equipment from its customers in 2007, and collections have been growing steadily since. The program, called Reconnect, also involves Goodwill Industries, which describes itself as North America’s leading nonprofit provider of education, training and career services for people with disadvantages. Goodwill has a strong presence in the Portland area and already maintains a collection bin for clothing at the Cape transfer station.

Items that can be dropped off at the Cape transfer station include computers, monitors, printers and fax machines, according to the public works department. Computer towers or other items that have heavy metal structures, should be dropped into the metal bin, according to recycling managers. Televisions are not accepted as part of this program.

The drop-off point, as of mid-March, is located adjacent to the main collection hopper at the transfer station. And if you look closely, right there at the bottom of the bin can be found a trunkload of ancient computing devices that once did noble work in my own basement.