Why You Should Recycle Your Old Computers

If you have old computers lying around your office or home, you might be wondering what to do with them. You might be tempted to just toss them in the rubbish, but that would be a mistake. Not only would you be harming the environment, but you could also be putting your corporate data at risk. Here are some reasons why you should recycle your old computers instead of throwing them away.

Computers contain many hazardous materials, such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants. These materials can leach into the soil and water, causing pollution and health problems for humans and wildlife. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), electronic waste accounts for 2% of the rubbish in landfills, but 70% of the toxic waste. Recycling your old computers can prevent these harmful substances from contaminating the environment and reduce the need for mining new materials.

Computers also store a lot of sensitive information, such as passwords, financial records, customer data, and trade secrets. If you throw away your old computers without properly wiping or destroying the hard drives, you could expose your data to hackers, identity thieves, or competitors. This could result in data breaches, lawsuits, fines, or reputational damage. Recycling your old computers can ensure that your data is securely erased or destroyed, and that your devices are handled by certified professionals who follow industry standards and regulations.

If you decide to recycle your old computers, you have two options:
Let The IT Agency do it for you.
You can also take advantage of our free recycling service, where we can take your old equipment, perform the offboarding steps, and arrange for its safe recycling. We have a relationship with a recognised recycler (SPC eCycle), and we can guarantee that your data and devices will be handled with the utmost care and professionalism. To learn more about our recycling service, please contact us at [email protected] or call +61 2 83174730.

We have added an option in the IT Support Panel to submit a request or use this URL Offboard a computer.

Do it yourself.
You can follow these steps to recycle your old computers on your own:
Uninstall our software. The IT Agency installs several tools and applications on business computers. Some of these tools are linked to monthly subscriptions. So, it’s important to uninstall or remove these to cancel any associated fees or charges. We ask that you call us to confirm successful removal.

Back up your data. Before you dispose of your old computers, make sure you have a copy of your important files and settings. You can use an external hard drive, a cloud service, or a data migration tool to transfer your data to a new device or a secure location.

Wipe your data. After you back up your data, you should erase your hard drives using a software tool that overwrites your data with random patterns. This will make it harder for anyone to recover your data. You can use a free tool like DBAN or a paid tool like Blancco to wipe your data.

Find a reputable recycler. You should look for a recycler that is certified by a third-party organisation, such as SPC eCycle, that verifies that they follow best practices for environmental and social responsibility, data security, and worker health and safety. You can use the EPA’s website or the Sustainable Electronics Initiative’s website to find a certified recycler near you.

Donate or sell your old computers. If your old computers are still in good working condition, you might be able to donate them to a charity, a school, or a community organisation that can use them. You can also sell them to a refurbisher or a reseller that can repair or upgrade them and sell them to new users. This way, you can extend the life of your old computers and reduce the amount of electronic waste.

By recycling your old computers, you can protect the environment, your data, and your reputation. You can also save money, space, and resources. So don’t throw away your old computers, recycle them instead!