Do they throw them away or do they do something else with them? as far as i understand, they would have to remove them which would cost them some money...

I was thinking, quite possibly one mans junk could be another man's treasure.

There are often groups associated with the Job Network here in Oz who collect busted computers and use them for specific 'computer repair' courses.

Any repaired computers are then donated to charities and/or other community organizations.

If you mean PC's they bought but are defective, they are of course returned.

If you mean someone brought in a computer that was broken and they couldn't repair it, then it's probably returned to the owner or (they first strip it) it's destroyed.

If you actually want defective parts, then yes, you'll be able to get them in abundance. In fact come to the UK. Our WEEE regs mean that it's really difficult to get rid of the stuff. I'd probably have paid you to take them (and they weren't even defective, just really old) after my last upgrade.

I run a computer repair store and in the back room, I just have a giant bin where I throw away all my defective/broken parts. Generally I will strip down the "broken" computer that someone gives/sells to me so long as it's not extrmeley dated. I then rebuild computers from stripped parts for use with classes or for demo purposes.

You know that brand new 2GB RAM stick they sold you last year? Well, it actually was owned by another person for 3 years before you purchased it.

So you're the one that screwed it up. I want a refund buddy!

j/k kav. :p

I'm not 100% on how stores are in Australia, but in America if you go to somewhere like Staples, Best Buy, etc. the vast majority, if not all perhaps, of the employees you encounter know squat. Perhaps that is just my experience from just my area, but it's the case for me none the less.

I suppose you could go "dumpster diving" behind some computer stores and see if you could find anything.

In a number of US states (most notably California, where there is a huge trade in computers), there is mandatory recycling. You can't just bin it. Some computer manufacturers, retailers, and charities accept electronic waste.

The most ambitious consumer electronics recycling program is Dell and Goodwill's "Reconnect". They have a zero export, zero landfill policy. Many others don't: what they can't reuse ends up in landfills anyway, or being exported to China, India, or Nigeria for dismantling.

Australia has for-profit E-waste collections services. The largest of these operations is a tiny fraction of the size of "Reconnect".