Saturday, November 28, 2015

A home for orphan wearables

How many people do you know who've bought a Fitbit or similar device to track their exercise patterns--who have then let the whole venture lapse? The Fitbit now resides comfortably and peacefully in their drawer!

Well, there's a useful way to recycle them, offered by Tufts University professor Lisa Gulatieri. As noted in this article:

Gualtieri started RecycleHealth in April with the goal of giving unused activity trackers — mostly Fitbits so far, but RecycleHealth accepts all devices — a second life. The company has collected about 20 devices so far and has plans to donate them to the Montachusett YMCA in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where they will be used to help older and lower income individuals have access to devices, as well as to learn about how those populations interact with activity trackers.

Check out the Facebook page for stories on how the idea is spreading, plus more information, including how to get free mailing labels.


4 comments:

  1. It looks like you assume your readers are all Haves rather than Have Nots, but as someone who followed you over from Universal Hub and would love to use one of these but hasn't been able to afford one, I would love it if you would provide more detailed info on how we can sign up, rather than how we can donate. Also, I'm happy to provide some research data in exchange for trying it out, but I would like to know if the folks running the program are going to refer to us as "these populations" rather than treating us like fellow humans, or if that sort of attitude was your own flavor that you added? Please advise. Thanks!

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  2. I bet Lisa would love to hear from you. You can find her on Facebook or at lisa [dot] gualtieri [at] tufts.edu. I'm sure, too, that you will find her to be a thoughtful and respectful person.

    Sorry if any "attitude" came across in my post. I was just trying to get the story out. I don't assume anything about my readers, other than they are excellent judges of what blogs are interesting!

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  3. Mr. Levy
    I can tell without question or hesitation your "flava" is just down right goodness and genuinely shared with great intentions.
    please keep helping, giving and doing for others as you so willingly do.
    And attitude ?!?~ assuming ?!? ~ I didn't get that, but to each his or her own.....

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