Tech upcycling program posts strong first‑month results

Published 1:00 pm Friday, July 24, 2026

By Noah Korver Local Journalism Initiative

Logan Collon works to repair components of a laptop in ReTek’s repair workshop. (Photo by Noah Korver/Yukon News)

Staff at ReTek perform all manner of repairs in order to bring older tech back to life such as replacing RAM memory hardware. (Photo by Noah Korver/Yukon News)

Logan Collon poses with a recently refurbished tablet and smartphone in ReTek’s repair workshop (Noah Korver/Yukon News)

Some computers are too far gone to repair. In those instances staff tear down the devices for parts and stockpile good components for use as replacements in other devices. (Photo by Noah Korver/Yukon News)

The storage area and sales floor at ReTek is packed with all manner of electronics. (Photo by Noah Korver/Yukon News)

The “Destroyinator” hard drive wiping device ensures all technology leaving ReTek presents zero risk of exposing previous owners to data leaks (Photo by Noah Korver/Yukon News)

Ean McDonald holds up a bucket of shredded hard drives that where unable to be fully cleared by the Destroyinator (Photo by Noah Korver/Yukon News)

Stacks of computers await refurbishment at ReTek (Photo by Noah Korver/Yukon News)

The shelves at ReTek are piled high with all manner of computers, tech hardware and electronics (Photo by Noah Korver/Yukon News)

One month after its official launch and retail store opening, Raven ReTek is a busy place.

ReTek is a new initiative aimed at providing low-cost technology to Yukoners and lowering the amount of electronic waste entering landfills. The program is run by the Raven Recycling Society who also operates the bottle depot, recycling collection centre and used goods store at their Raven ReCentre facility in Whitehorse.

The program is the successor to Raven’s previous role as the Yukon administrator of the federally funded Computers for Schools Program which focused on providing refurbished technology to students and educators based on certain eligibility requirements defined by the federal government.

However, with the conclusion of federal funding for the Computers for Schools program, Raven has now brought the initiative fully in-house allowing them to expand their scope and make affordable technology available to all Yukoners.

This change has been for the better according to ReTek Office Manager, Ean McDonald, who said that while he understood the government’s reasons for the restrictions, staff sometimes felt hamstrung by the strict eligibility requirements placed on the federally funded program.

“We’re really happy about being able to help anyone that comes to our door,” McDonald said.

“It’s just way more relaxing [now] to be able to say, if you come to us needing a computer, we have a solution for you.”

Functioning as an all in one collection point, tech workshop and retail store, ReTek’s warehouse space occupies one bay and one office space within a Yukon government warehouse and vehicle shop just off Hospital Drive in Whitehorse. while the work and retail space has been leased from the government at a discounted rate, the rest of the ReTek program has been entirely funded by inhouse revenues from Raven’s other programs. In the future, Raven aims to make the with ReTek program self-sustaining through its sales and repair services.

It’s at this location that ReTek staff collect, repair or refurbish and eventually resell computers, phones, tablets, and other devices. According to McDonald, this process can range in difficulty from a fairly straightforward data wipe and cleanup, to a complete tear down and rebuild depending on the condition of the devices.

A mandatory step for all devices is the removal of their hard drives for an appointment with the “Destroyinator.” This aptly named device completely wipes and overwrites all data on the drive’s memory cards ensuring that not even the most technically proficient data thieves can ever get their hands on data belonging to the device’s previous owner.

However, even the “Destroyinator” has its limits and not all drives comply with having their memory wiped. For these stubborn holdouts, the team employs another machine. The Ameri-Shred industrial waste shredder: a large machine that uses interlocking spinning steel teeth to obliterate hard drives into nothing but shards of silicon, plastic and metal that are then sent to an e-waste recycler.

Once all the previous data has been securely removed from the devices, MacDonald says staff move on to refurbishment: cleaning the devices, testing them for functionality and replacing worn out components if needed.

“A lot of the work is cleaning it up and putting new thermal paste on the heat sink so that the processor can transfer heat out efficiently,” McDonald said.

Seeing as this is the most labour intensive part of the whole process, ReTek staff do their best to only replace parts on devices when absolutely necessary.

“We try to eliminate as much work as possible. So like if it’s working as is with the RAM that came with it, then we won’t worry about swapping that part out,” McDonald said.

Once a device is through the refurbishing process it’s ready to hit the sales floor. McDonald explains that here, knowledgeable staff are on hand to help buyers select a computer that meets their needs without unnecessarily pushing more expensive options.

“With our sales, we endeavor to meet the person’s needs rather than trying to up sell them for everything. We see it as a disservice if they have a computer that’s way beyond what they need just for the sake of our sales,” McDonald said.

So far the program has seen great success. In just under one month, staff have sent just over 100 devices out the door. For comparison, the previous program put roughly 800 devices into Yukoner’s hands in an entire year.

Editor’s note: The version of this story that appeared in the News’ July 24 print edition contained a factual error. The print article stated that the Yukon government has provided financial support to the ReTek program. In fact, ReTek has not received any funds from the territory.

Contact Noah Korver at noah.korver@yukon-news.com