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What to do with old useless equipment?

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by aldanatech 1 view

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Corporations, schools, and other organizations can have a great demand for computers and other equipment. If any of that equipment fails we can usually fix it or salvage it for the company. Other times we might salvage that equipment for non-profit organizations or developing countries. The same usually applies to old equipment that works as well. But what about non-salvageable equipment such useless motherboards or monitors, burned RAM chips or power supplies? What is the best way to deal with all that useless equipment? I heard countless cases of people that rooms full of old and useless equipment just sitting there.

Some suggest that we should just throw it away and be done with it. Others believe that because of environmental issues, there should be a proper way to safely dispose all that stuff. What do you think?

53 replies

by packratt

Some manufacturers do offer recycling services for a fee, I know one large company I did some contract work for used Dell's service and would ship any old equipment back to Dell for recycling and proper disposal for the parts they cannot recycle (just as important), that they didn't donate.

Check with your suppliers to see if any such programs exist.

Good luck and good job putting old equipment to good use.

by sgandenberger

Our Local Solid Waste District (In Ohio, is is at the county level) sponsors an annual computer equipment recycling drive. They don't take everything, but they do take CPU's, monitors, printers and the like. They work with firms that either recondition the equipment for charities, and other needy organizations; canibalize it for parts; or recycle the raw materials. What's left is properly disposed, without the donor having to worry about any liability.

by ippirate

I think that one of the most innovative solutions that I have seen to date has been recycling to market retail. What I mean by this is the use of components in the creation of other, less than suggested uses such as clock faces, coasters, etc. There are a couple of "geek" stores that I visit on a regular basis just so I can check this phenomenon out.

If you still don't know what I am getting at then try the link below.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/mugs/5d28/

Still some waste involved but it is still reduced against original levels.

by aldanatech

Good, at least we know we can do something with useless motherboards. I actually used to have keychain made out of a motherboard.

by dc_guy

You're right about that. IT hardware is full of toxic substances and should not go into landfills any more than a dead car battery.

Since we live in a rural area without compulsory trash pickup at rip-off government rates and choose to haul away our own, we're somewhat familiar with dumping rules and practices. Computer equipment costs a lot to dump and we can understand why so many people don't do it -- particularly since no one thinks about it until the pile gets too big to walk around and by then it's a hundred-dollar dump job.

Unfortunately, following the route that our trash takes from the dump can be dismaying. Some of those toxic substances have a non-zero salvage value. A lot of dead equipment seems to mysteriously end up in China, where citizens for whom the equivalent of fifty cents US is a lot of money scavenge the dumps and pull out the salvage with their bare hands. It's creating major health problems whose treatment costs in both money and heartbreak far outweigh the value of the elements scraped off of old components with a kitchen knife.

But the short run always has a way of coming first, so it does no good to explain this to a subsistence worker whose family gets meat once or twice a week.

This is an international issue and won't be solved easily. We all can and should become more disciplined and take old computers and peripherals to a dump that is set up to handle them, no matter what it costs. At least that way they won't end up in our land fills.

Then we can worry about how to stop them from ending up in some other country's land fills.

by choppit

The trouble is that (at the moment) environmentally friendly policies do not make financial sense. Once environmentally safe disposal becomes a legal requirement businesses will comply (to avoid financial penalties) and the consumer will ultimately foot the bill.

by levya

Whether a home user or corporation you have to be mindful that any proprietary information on storage devices is recoverable if not properly wiped. Fdisk is not going to iretrievably erase information, nor will a simple rewrite with non-sensical data. Although most corporations are aware of the potential liability, they still don't seem to process their data storage units with the level of security that will ensure that all data is gone. It is always best to use a dedicated organization that will indemnify the corporate entity, and wipe to at least Department of Defense specs. From the home user stand point, if they ever typed in any personal identifier into a document, even potentially a web site, that information is contained on the hard drive and is retreivable. Will the consumer be willing to pay for a professional service to remove the data, or just leave it up to luck that when their old unit ends up either at a tech school, or worse overseas and the information is retrieved then used illicitly? Educating the public on these issues and providing them with right tools or solutions is a good first step, but they carry a cost and not many are willing to carry that burden.

by maxwell edison

.
On broken monitors:

I know a guy who owns a TV and computer monitor repair shop. Whenever I have a monitor fail, I take it to him and he does a free diagnosis to give me an estimate of what it will cost to fix, or if it's even worth fixing at all. If he can fix it, I might do that. If he can't fix it, or if it's not worth it, he just keeps it. He'll even take one that I just don't want anymore, working or not. Sometimes he might use it for parts, sometimes he disposes of them. It's a win-win: He gets my business and I have an outlet to get rid of my old monitors.

On the computers that are phased out, but still work, we sometimes give or sell them to employees. Sometimes, I'll have a "lunch room auction". The bidding might start at a few bucks, and not really go too high; but it's a fun way to get rid of old stuff. In the last auction I had, for example, somebody bought an old HP 720c printer (that had a tendency for the occasional paper jam) for about $10. However, the computers usually don't have the OS or any other software because we don't want to violate our software licenses agreements, so whoever gets them has to be savvy enough to take it from there. I don't want to support our "home" users.

Old hard drives, motherboards, graphics cards, etc., that still work but are no longer adequate for the office needs, I sell them on ebay, often times in large and/or mixed lots. There certainly are buyers in the market for either single 6GB, 20GB, etc. drives or lots of 5-6. This stuff usually doesn't bring a lot of money, but it goes to someone who needs it for a bargain price.

I've tried the school angle, but I've found that they don't want them because they're either too old or they don't come with the software (or both).

The other stuff, the broken motherboards, power supplies, and such, they go to the resident liberal Democrat. He spouts off about the environment and all that stuff, while I, on the other hand, love dirty air and polluted water, so he gets them. I "shame" him into taking them and disposing of them properly. What does he do with the stuff? I have no idea. He's never said, and I've never asked. (I have a sneaking suspicion, however, that he just throws the stuff in the dumpster, and is really putting up a facade.)

by awfernald

As an FYI, any OEM software that was bought/installed on one of these machines does not need to be erased, as the license cannot legally be transferred to ANY other machine.

Only full retail applications that were purchased separately would need to be removed, and then only if they are transferred to a new computer and/or were utilized as the basis for an upgrade license purchase.

by thechas

At least in the US, the Microsoft OEM EULA specifies that the OEM software is ONLY licensed for use on that specific hardware by the original purchaser.

You are required to remove the OEM software if you sell the hardware.

Retail versions can be transfered so long as all documentation and the physical license is transfered along with it.

Chas

by choppit

I've also tried to donate old IT equipment to local schools but unless they're at least Pentium 3 they're not interested. As I'm still supporting some Pentium 1 machines in the business it's unlikely that schools will ever want my cast offs.

I work for a business that offers environmentally friendly services. Any waste (PCBs etc) is disposed through (expensive) environmentally friendly channels. Unfortunately, we will always be undercut by companies which dispose of equipment in a less friendly manner. The fact of the matter is that consumers don't want to pay extra for environmentally friendly disposal.

by andrew

We only accept PIIIs as donations at our high school because of software constraints. Most of the new books (which are sorely needed in public schools) come with additional tools in the form of software, which of course, requires Windows XP, which requires PIII+ architecture to function correctly. It's a bit of a catch-22 for us. We love donations because we are working with limited funds; however, we can't just take anything.

Sorry about that....

by thechas

I am fortunate enough to have a couple of paths to recycle old computers, electronics, and small appliances.

For personal items, I can drop them off working or not at any local Goodwill Industries location.
If they do not want or cannot use the equipment, it is sent to a recycling center.

We also have a local branch of CompRenew.
http://www.comprenew.com/

They buy, sell, and recycle computer equipment.
There is a fee for dropping of some items.

Chas

by hockeyist

There are several computer recycling centres in our area;check your area for them. They extract the metals from the boards physically and chemically with acid. The external cases are scrap metal and the boards usually contain small traces of precious metal (especially the older equipment). The metal is then reclaimed and put back into the loop.

by choppit

There are companies in the UK that deal with disposal of old electronic equipment in an environmentally manner. I believe that they extract the precious metals, plastics, substrate etc and use these in other manufacturing processes.

As for the environmental issues, in the UK, the WEEE directive will severely restrict the disposal of electrical products after 2008.

by Member 27209855

Homeowners are not allowed to dispose of their CRT's to the trash, at least not in California. The US EPA and several states have already passed legislation or regulation prohibiting CRT disposal, not only by business, but residential sources as well. I know California has passed disposla restrictions for CRT's and other electronic wastes.

by montgomery gator

However, I would not recommend this, since it is not very ethical, probably illegal, and someone might catch you doing it, but you could put it in someone else's dumpster in the middle of the night. ;-)

by jpbergeron

There are many recycler's that will pick up your non functioning equipment in bulk for almost nothing. We tend to use a computer recycler. Make sure you check credentials to ensure that they are disposing of broken equipment properly. You don't want your assets ending up on the 5 oclock news.

by uscguy539

If you're in the Southern California area, my company, IoVega, can help you out. We reuse, resell, and recycle old computer equipment from local businesses, schools and recycling centers that can't properly dispose of them. We also work with non-profit organizations in a joint effort to convert surplus equipment into working capital for charities.
If you have any questions, you can contact us at 714-558-7993 or email: zcohen@iovega.com. Let's keep our earth nice and clean for future tech nerds to enjoy.

by chriswales

At different times during the year, Office Depot will offer a free recycling program; you just need to bring your equipment to them. Dell does the same thing occasionally as well as offering a recycling program for a minimal fee.

Watch out for data though. Use a good diskwiping application (that meets DoD specs) on any hard drives that leave the company.

by mr. tinker

There are many salvage yards that also take computer "waste" and at $0.50 to $0.85 cents per pound, there is a GOOD reason to drop off 200 lbs of computer boards. Reputable yards abound, and what you and I consider waste, is still salvagable beyond us. Gold contacts, and Chips is what the salvage yard gets paid for, and that keeps them open for "our waste". Besides, isn't $100.00 bucks in your pocket worth that effort?

by louk

In Switzerland all computer equipment has a recycling charge added at the point of sale. All kit must be recycled but as you have already paid it's not problem. They tend to be good at recycling everything they can in Switzerland anyway, if you put glass bottles out with your rubbish you will be fined by the rubbish police.

by montgomery gator

However, I heard some guys use Viagra.

..uh wait a minute. I reread your post, so I guess we are talking about something else here :-)

by montgomery gator

It was an old Packard-Bell computer. Instead of throwing the piece of junk away, I wiped the drive, then used the disk that came with it to reinstall the OS. I then gave it to the local Goodwill, so they could sell it, and I got a nice (if small) tax deduction for it.

by eroncone

I have recuperated 3 win boxes, wiped their drives and installed Red Hat Linux in my three cases (to help my Red Hat stock go up in the long term) as these 3-5 year old friends of my children learn that Open Source is a viable and Intellectual Property safe alternative to probaly pirated Redmond OS on Office that was on the HDD before I wiped it. And if it was not pirated, how in the world does one actually transfer the licences of everthing installed on the HDD, if transferable? The school director thinks I am God (my wife knows I am ;-) and I know that in 15 years these little minds will be hacking their way through life confortably accustomed to Open Source... what a cool concept.

Living in France for almost 9 years, I have found another cool alternative, place the old box and monitor on the sidewalk, and you can bet your bottom dollar that it will mysteriously vanish within 45 minutes.

My third discovery is that eBaying actually works, I have posted known dead (and announced this fact) items for the minimum cost of posting the auction and watched peolpe buy it up. The strangest thing is that the junk that is least likely item to sell ends up selling before the items of value... there is a buyer for everything, but the art is finding the buyer. Ebay works well for me.

Sincerely,

God

by willcomp

Chas,

You've stated the same in TQ&A. I've added responses that the OEM EULA is tied to the hardware and is transferrable. Thought you might check out the OEM EULA.

For everyone's edification, the following is an excerpt from the XP Pro OEM EULA.

"1.2 SOFTWARE as a Component of the COMPUTER - Transfer. This license may not be shared, transferred to or used concurrently on different computers. The SOFTWARE is licensed with the COMPUTER as a single integrated product and may only be used with the COMPUTER. If the SOFTWARE is not accompanied by HARDWARE, you may not use the SOFTWARE. You may permanently transfer all of your rights under this EULA only as part of a permanent sale or transfer of the COMPUTER, provided you retain no copies of the SOFTWARE. If the SOFTWARE is an upgrade, any transfer must also include all prior versions of the SOFTWARE. This transfer must also include the Certificate of Authenticity label. The transfer may not be an indirect transfer, such as a consignment. Prior to the transfer, the end user receiving the Software must agree to all the EULA terms."

Volume licenses are a different animal altogether. They ARE tied to the owner and not the hardware.

Dalton

by choppit

Most of us work with limited funds, the trick is to get the best from that funding. If you become locked into using MS solutions then you'll always be in this situation.

by mcasares07

I think that if is really useful you should tried to fix it or take to the recycle centers but, if you think it can't be repair you just have to throw it away so it wont take up space.

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