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Press
Clipping: Whittier Daily News
Computers for classrooms
La Mirada man recycles e-waste for the benefit of students
March 16, 2004 -- Four years ago, La Mirada resident Chris Pflanzer wanted to create a computer lab for his daughter's elementary school.
Now the project has expanded so much that Pflanzer is going to hold his first e-waste recycling event from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at his Buena Park office. He hopes to collect thousands of computers he and his volunteers can refurbish and give to schools.
This first e-waste drive is being sponsored by the Buena Park Noon and Stanton Lions clubs, which will provide volunteers.
"There isn't a school out there that should have to pay for a computer,' Pflanzer said. "There isn't a first-grader who shouldn't be learning typing.'
The project has taken off since he opened a computer lab two years at La Pluma Elementary School, where he now has two daughters attending. He also has donated computers to more than 13 schools in Southern California.
He has opened an office at 7884 La Palma Ave. in Buena Park where his many volunteers work on the computers he collects. It has all been under the auspices of his nonprofit corporation, ImageArts Foundation.
Through his project, Pflanzer also has become educated about the environmental issues of recycling computers.
It is not just about getting computers for schools, he said. It's also about recycling electronic equipment responsibly.
Pflanzer said when he began the project, he did not realize that much of the equipment he gets still must be recycled.
Much of the electronic equipment and computers people discard is sent out of the country illegally sometimes and ends up poisoning the environment, he said.
"A lot of this stuff isn't usable,' he said. "When it's not usable, you have to do the right thing. We won't ship to China or overseas where this stuff becomes a hazard. It's not right to poison and trash the world.'
That is why he is also taking television sets and asking for a $10 donation per monitor and $1 per diagonal inch for television. He wants to make sure it's disposed of safely.
Pflanzer said he works with the Southern California Computer Recycler company that takes the plastic and leaded glass from monitors so they can be re-used.
La Mirada Councilman Hal Malkin, whose city gave Pflanzer a volunteers-in-action award, said he's impressed with Pflanzer and his project.
"I admire that he's taking on two things that mean a lot to me: children and and the environment,' Malkin said.
For Pflanzer, the Saturday event is an example of how his project has grown, but not always the way he wanted it to.
His plan was to get corporate donations he wanted about $40,000 to hold the e-waste collection. But the donations have not materialized. so he has had to scale his plans back and rely on local organizations.
Still, he plans to hold 12 e- waste events this year.
Pflanzer also plans to move out of his Buena Park building into a Harbor City location that is next to Southern California Recycler.
People who want to donate computers can call Pflanzer at (714) 521-5111 or go to one of two Web sites: www.computers2schools.org or image-arts.org.
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This story written by Mike Sprague.
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