[CONTEST CLOSED] Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: a Gently Used Contest!

[AmyReyes]

UPDATE: This contest has ended — huge thanks to everyone who shared their recycling photos and stories! Congrats to our three randomly selected winners: @zRobert, @JossyK, and @TMRoberts!

It’s National Recycling Day here in the U.S. and we thought why not repurpose one of our past contests for a little recycling fun! 

Did you know electronic waste or e-waste is the fastest growing source of waste globally? A lot of what’s considered “e-waste” is not waste at all though! According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a lot of it is whole electronic equipment or parts that could be reused or recycled.

That’s why we chose to focus on upcycling old tech to create delightful new trinkets like the adorable wireshark @Nash crocheted from old cables (read the story here!). By finding innovative new ways to repurpose our tech, we can all do our part in helping to keep plastics and toxic waste out of our landfills. (Of course, companies and organizations must do their part too. Cisco has a Takeback and Reuse Program to that end.)

We love seeing all of the creative ways you come up with to repurpose tech too! Like how @redsector transformed these little bags Meraki devices come in, into an advent calendar that keeps the Meraki holiday spirit alive for years to come.

Traditional German holiday advent calendar made from Meraki packaging by @redsector

Or how @Nick_S-B converted a redundant Cisco 4506 chassis into a nifty coffee table for the company’s breakout area just by adding a logo and a glass top!

Coffee table made from Cisco chassis by @Nick_S-B

For this contest, we want to know how you are transforming your busted, broken, or simply outdated tech to give it new life as a completely reimagined masterpiece or by passing it on to someone who will get plenty of use from it. Let’s see those pics of your old MX appliance turned paperweight! Got grand plans but no photographic evidence? That’s okay, too. You can simply tell us about your project or the plans you have in store to reduce e-waste through reusing or recycling old tech.

How to Win

In a comment on this post, submit your repurposed or upcycled tech as an image or via a brief description and be entered to win swag. Submit your entry on this blog post before 11 a.m. EST on Monday, November 21st (11/21/2022).We’ll then draw three at random to win a Meraki Hydroflask mug! Your entries will be public and visible throughout the contest.

 Continue reducing and reusing with this mug!

The fine print

• Limit one entry per community member 

• Submission period: Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 11:00am ET through Monday, November 21st, 2022 at 10:59am ET

• Full terms, conditions, and eligibility information

[AldoSalinas]

Created this picture frame with old PC and Laptop hard drives a few years ago.

[zRobert]

Invisible tree with hard-drive platters.

[TMRoberts]

So I have two ... one is not quite "upcycling" as more mutually assured data destruction ... MADD .... we would give our old drives we needed to make sure were really dead and wiped and give them to our resident sharp shooter. He would take them out to his family campground and put everything from..22 through to .50 cal rounds through them and send us pics for our internal gallery!

The real upcycling story was when I worked in BlueShield we had a Christmas wreath contest by dept and someone gave IT one to "decorate", wish I still had pics but we spray painted it blue as we attached old NICs, random other cards, old RAM (green on green didn't work, why we went blue also blue shield) and then back-lit it with USB powered Christmas lights it was all set and awesome.

[Coupe2112]

Our department Christmas tree is made from old PC components (and a string of lights)!

[TGMI]

"Cisco Meraki is the Apple of our Solutions"

We support the Woman Owned Business that creates these beautiful pieces  or art from recycled computer parts.

[jengelha]

Made a pen holder from some old 3.5" floppy disks. Had this for over 10 years. Had to give the disks more RAM too.

[TGMI]

Pens for the recycled pencil-box!

[eh_cve_cc]

I make chimes or cymbals for the service desk out of old hard drive platters. When we resolve tickets we hit the cymbals and say "Another Satisfied Team Member!".

[Raj25]

Wow!

[LECISCOKID]

Our delivery folks work hard for us all year (but especially during the holidays) .. So our Meraki fridge keeps a few drinks cold for them all season long !

[JossyK]

Sorry I do t have pics, but I am fixing old computers, donated from companies, partnering with San Diego Coastal Rotary Club and donate them to the community in need. 

[tunisiano]

Hello, no pics here, but we're partnering with a learning center that clean up, and repair with their students if needed the hardware of all types, and reuse them or sell them at low cost to pay their bills.

[Gislavedshus]

its a very nice, i hope to get it and put it in my office

[KarstenI]

May I present, the most beautiful doorstop in the world:

Recycled when upgraded to a Z3.

(Oh, I just imagine that my door is quite dirty. I'll directly go and clean it.)

[AlisonD]

So creative. I am especially impressed by the apple art, but love the imagination behind so many of these creations. The glass-topped table is such a simple idea but looks incredible--especially in the lobby area where customers wait. It certainly is far more impressive than some of the tables they come up with on some of those HGTV shows! And a pen, a pencil holder made out of all those old floppy disks, that amazing 'invisible' tree... the list goes on. Thanks for the ideas

[CalvynLee]

Xmas is around the corner, Merry Xmas

[MRT320]

Some years ago I worked at a company where there wasn't an aircon in the office and the manager didn't give us a permission to work from the server room. Didn't allow us to buy an office fan either. I dived into to the skip, where we used to throw away electronics and made this, out of discarded PSUs.

Most people said it will be a all-show-no-go but surprisingly it had some punch and I used it for quite a while. I planned to make it bigger (16 fans) but as soon as I started working on the frame the heatwave went away. If I look hard enough I might might a video when it was operational.
It was oficially PAT tested and you can see the sticker on the right side. Whether it would pass if tested by another person is entirely different matter 😉

Few years before that I made a scaled down football stadium (pitch, stands and everything) out of old harddrives. I can't find the photo atm though.

[AmyReyes]

UPDATE: This contest has ended — huge thanks to everyone who shared their recycling photos and stories! Congrats to our three randomly selected winners: @zRobert, @JossyK, and @TMRoberts! 

[zRobert]

Woooo! Thanks @AmyReyes!   Do you require my address?

Robert 

[AmyReyes]

😄🎉 @zRobert you will receive an email from me / Postal.io with a link to claim your prize! You can input your address and confirm your mailing then.

[JossyK]

Awesome, thank you so much. 

[BlakeRichardson]

Well done everyone! Some really nice pieces, loved the framed HDD's such a simple bit elegant design.

We donate most of our old equipment to charities that re-use it in poorer countries or areas. 

[Gislavedshus]

It was very nice mug, i hope to get one on my office. 

i like to much Cisco Meraki and i have too much devices from Cisco, i hope som time get som gift from Cisco.

[junkhaulers]

Benefits Of E-Waste Recycling For IT Firms

Three Key Benefits of E-Waste Recycling for IT Firms    

1. Turn e-waste into a sales opportunity

As discussed earlier, e-waste contains a range of valuable precious minerals, metals and resources. That’s why you will often see a range of buy-back IT programs run by the government, private e-waste recycling companies and manufacturers. You can easily turn your e-waste into a sales opportunity. These programs offer rewards in exchange for your e-waste. You may get cash rewards or in-store credits. The only restriction with this type of buy-back program is your e-waste should hold some good value. Not every type of e-waste qualifies for the buy-back scheme. You need to check the program details to find out the items eligible for buy-back.

2. Protect the environment and natural resources

By investing in e-waste recycling, you can protect the environment and natural resources. There are primarily two ways to handle your e-waste: either dump it into landfill or recycle it. When you dump e-waste into a landfill, the hazardous materials can leach into the waterways and soil. These dangerous leaks can destroy the soil and natural resources in the area, or even harm animals and humans indirectly in many ways. Proper recycling ensures the safe disposal of e-waste. As you can reclaim the precious metals and resources through recycling, they can be reused to manufacture new parts that reduce the burden of extracting new resources from mother nature.

3. Data destruction

You have all heard of identity theft. Many criminal elements try to recover data illegally from storage devices dumped into landfill. When you invest in authorized e-waste recycling services , your data safety is assured. Professional e-waste recycling companies and authorized e-waste recycling centers provide you with data destruction services that destroy the data according to industry protocols so it cannot be recovered.

At Xtreme Green Recycling, we take data destruction very seriously. We ensure the safety of your data and your client’s information with our on-site destruction service, which includes physically destroying the hard drive platter on-site, at your place of business, with our 12-ton crush and ensuring those drives can never be used again.

These are the three key major benefits of e-waste recycling for IT firms. If you do that, you automatically make a huge contribution to the circular economy, and it’s good for the nation.