Disposition of Old IT Equipment Leads to Financial Help for Students

The butterfly effect posits that small causes may have large effects over time. So how could clearing out some old equipment at Bioventus in 2016, benefit a high school student in 2019? Read on to find out.

“In early 2016, facilities was tasked with cleaning out the old lab on the first floor. It was full of some medical equipment as well as electronic equipment that looked like it was from the 80s,” laughed Kimberly Cox, Bioventus Senior Buyer. “I needed to find a vendor that would take this old electronics equipment. I did a search and found Triangle Ecycling here in Durham.”

As this relationship began, it was pretty standard for Bioventus. The need was for a local electronics recycling company to provide affordable disposition of the equipment in our old lab. Kimberly spoke with Larry Herst, Founder and CEO of Triangle Ecycling, she then set up a time to have them come pick up the electronics and that was that.

Unknown to Kimberly at the time, in addition, to great client service, Triangle Ecycling has an eye on stewardship and students. The nonprofit organization works with both individuals and businesses, and typically takes old computers to be refurbished or recycled as part of a free teaching program that prepares high school students for jobs in information technology.

“We are a nonprofit working with the Durham public schools and do this work as part of an educational program,” said Larry. “If a computer is between three to five years old, it can be refurbished and put to good use.”

Repurposed computers are given to local charities, sold locally to bridge the digital divide or sold online to support the greater good and provide a social responsibility dividend. In addition, all e-waste is processed pursuant to the company’s zero percent landfill policy.

“I worked with Larry on the lab project and he later reached out to see if we could get our employees to recycle old computers and electronics for Earth Day,” said Kimberly. “They came in and we had them place bins out in our offices for about three days and it was a success.”

That left an impression with some other key customers inside Bioventus. In 2017, the IT department reached out to Kimberly for a referral to Triangle Ecycling to help Bioventus dispose of computers.

“We were going through a refresh of our laptops for the Durham office and the field-based teams in the US and they were very accommodating,” said Won Pyon, Bioventus Senior IT Administrator. “Also, because our laptop donation was so large, they destroyed the hard drives at no charge so it was a nice cost savings for Bioventus.”

Then, in 2018, Bioventus became more aware of Triangle Ecycling’s efforts to help students. The organization takes students and teaches them how to refurbish and repair PCs and perhaps lead them to a trade. Some kids show a natural aptitude for PCs and don’t have soft skills required for office work, while others have those skills, but don’t know much about computers. Triangle Ecycling works to teach them both and help round out some terrific young adults.

As we headed into Q4 of 2018, the Bioventus IT Team also had some ideas about some additional surplus equipment.

“Last fall was all about cleaning out storage spaces as we got ready to move our offices from the first and second floors,” said Won. “I found a lot of older laptops, docking stations and cords – you name it. We had this stuff stashed away and largely forgotten. So I called on Triangle Ecycling again and made a donation.”

That prompted Larry to do something pretty special.

“We named an intern fellowship in honor of Bioventus based on your huge contribution. For the next three years, we will select a deserving and in-need student from our interns to receive a cash and laptop award at the end of the semester,” said Larry. “This year we selected Kyle Salinas as our first Bioventus Fellow.”

Each day Kyle works with a tutor at the Durham Literacy Center with the goal of finishing his high school diploma and enrolling in college. So far, he has passed three out of the five exams he needs to obtain his equivalency diploma and he passed the community college entrance exam in early February.

“He has been exemplary as an intern: diligent, hardworking and very dependable. He has learned much about hardware, computer refurbishing and the soft skills of working in a small business during his time with us,” said Larry. “Thanks for supporting our work with students like Kyle!”

Kimberly and Won didn’t set out to create a Bioventus Fellowship, they went about their work like they always do, acting with integrity and building relationships the right way on behalf of Bioventus.

“I was just doing my job and it feels good to know that our work and the company’s generosity is helping these students create a better future for themselves,” said Won. “But most of the credit goes to Larry Herst and his team.”