Nowadays, we’re used to recycling our soda cans, milk cartons and plastic bottles. But, what is unknown to many is the environmental impact of not recycling IT equipment such as desktop or notebook computers. In many cases, businesses – unsure of what to do- will throw a computer away or store it until deciding what to do with it later.
According the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), of the 2.25 million tons of TVs, cell phones and computer products ready for end-of-life (EOL) management, only 18 percent were collected for recycling in 2007.
As a small business, it might seem silly to get rid of a system you may need again someday when you can just store it in that one empty office or warehouse. Holding onto those older systems might seem like a great idea ‘just in case’ you need an additional computer in a crunch. But, as you acquire faster computers with more hard drive space, you also have more energy efficient technology. Recycling those old computers can help you be a greener company and free up some storage space.
Dell has partnered with Goodwill and announced a program called Reconnect – a free drop-off at many (but not all) Goodwill locations. Dell takes care of the cost of recycling, keeps the computers out of landfills and small businesses can deduct the value of the IT being recycled for tax purposes.
Here are a few other options for computer recycling:
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/ecycling/index.htm
http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycle-computers.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_recycling