Secondhand Is First-Rate.

The article discusses the benefits to school districts of purchasing refurbished containers instead of new ones. It notes that manufacture of computers represents 70 to 80 percent of a computer's energy use in its life cycle, making extension of the life of a computer more environmentally sound than purchasing a new Energy Star computer. It describes the refurbishing process used by CDI Computers, of Ontario, Canada, a large seller of refurbished computers to the education market. CDI certified technicians clean the hard drive, remove identifying marks from the previous owner, and test and audit the unit. It reconfigures the unit for the new buyer at no charge. It notes that the failure rate of refurbished computers is lower than the rate for new ones because of the extensive testing.