subject: Recycling Computer Equipment? [print this page] As most IT equipment isn't biodegradable and will possibly contain harmful substances, it amazes me how little information available for local residents giving advice on efficiently recycling their old machines.
I wasn't particularly surprised to find no reference to such advice on the Torbay Council website. Unfortunately it seems that whilst both national and local government bang on about the importance of public awareness regarding the issues of recycling, they don't tend to clarify exactly what we should actually be doing. Extending my search to council websites nationwide was just as fruitless, and as such it's not surprising the public at large are slightly bewildered about the best way to dispose of their IT equipment.
Happily there are several avenues one can explore when getting rid of their old gear:
- You could investigate the possibly of reusing the computer yourself in some way and there are a variety of ways this could be done; you could set your computer to work as a hardware firewall, a print server or maybe even a shared network drive. Please keep in mind that having a dedicated PC sucking up quite a lot of energy and only doing basic jobs will be more harmful to the environment in the long run than simply chucking it.
- Sites such as eBay will allow you to sell practically anything, no matter what the age. You may not get much for your old equipment but you'll stop it going in to landfill and may get a couple of quid to boot. Of course, the Herald Express free ads section is also a good option if you're looking to advertise locally.
- It is always great to give to charity and it you can reclaim some space on your desk it is twice as rewarding. Whilst a little effort is required, the idealist in me thinks it is worth it for the feeling that you have done something good. So please try phoning a few local charities in case your old equipment would be of use to them. If not I would recommend creating a listing on Donate A PC (www.donateapc.org.uk) as they offer a free matchmaking service, where individuals list the gear they have to sell and charities then offer to collect. Alternatively you could check out Computer Aid (www.computeraid.org) who will take almost all old PC bits for charity but you will have to organise the postage to London yourself.
- Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) is a incredibly popular website that lets users list whatever they want to recycle online including computer equipment. It is somewhat similar to eBay the only real difference being that you're not selling the goods but instead are giving them away; even though you will not make anything it is worth doing for the sake of the environment.
- You may find that a local computer company will take the computer off of your hands however it is unlikely that they will give you any money for it, and in some instances may refuse to take the equipment off your hands at all unless it is relatively modern. This is because of new guidelines, companies have to pay to get rid of this kind of waste and so, unsurprisingly, they will be unwilling to take something off your hands free of charge. If purchasing new equipment then, under the WEEE initiative, the retailer should take your old goods back for recycling free of charge.
- If you are unable to get rid of your equipment in any of the above fashions then taking it to the recycling centre on Yalberton Road may be the only option. Since no information on what actually happens to equipment disposed in this fashion appears to be available I will try to get a response from the council regarding this by next week.
Whilst most companies that you could donate a computer to say that they will securely wipe your data for you, I would still urge on the side of caution so before sending your computer off completely wipe the hard drive with a free utility such as dBan (http://dban.sourceforge.net). Please note that simply deleting files or formatting your hard drive isn't sufficient as data can often be retrieved from drives wiped in this fashion; those that are particularly concerned about their data may even consider removing the hard drive and physically destroying it.
