Grossberg brings up a good question:

So now that the old Pentium II box is my third-string computer, what should I do with it?

[ What To Do With Old Computers? : Joe Grossberg ]

In the DC area you can have Turtle Wings do the dirty work for you, and rest assured that you aren't polluting the environment.

Over 40 million electronic pieces become obsolete every year. These pieces are filled with materials that are hazardous to the environment such as lead, cadmium, lead oxide, barium and mercury.

We Pick Up and Recycle Electronics

• Pickup and removal of all unwanted electronic equipment
• Security cleansing and identity theft protection
• Certified data destruction
• Certification of recycling and good citizenship
• Excess inventory programs

• computers
• monitors
• printers / copiers
• mainframes / hubs

• cell phones / telecom
• fax machines / plotters
• stereos / microwaves
• battery back-up units, etc.

The site says that there is a nominal charge, but what price can we put on the Earth?