No product or device can last forever. Whether due to technological obsolescence or physical wear and tear, you’ll eventually have to replace your computer. Understanding how to dispose of a computer correctly is an essential part of being a responsible owner.
Why Should You Dispose Of Your Computer?
Getting rid of a computer is far more complex than throwing out a used candy wrapper. Whether it’s a cheap off-the-shelf model or a specialized medical computer, there are strong reasons for disposing of it through the correct channels.
Recycle Valuable Components
Computers use valuable materials such as gold, palladium, copper, and rare earth elements in their design and manufacture. These materials are expensive and dangerous to mine and process, making it more cost-effective to recycle them from older electronics and other manufactured products.
Prevent E-Waste and Ecological Damage
Other materials used in computers, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium, are toxic to both people and the environment. While they don’t pose a risk while the computer is in service, they can easily leak from a broken case and pollute the environment if the computer is improperly discarded. Proper computer disposal methods involve removing these materials and often recycling or quarantining them.
Protect Private Information
Even a PC at home can store sensitive data such as contact information, bank account numbers, passwords, and more. A computer used in healthcare or industry could contain Social Security numbers, private health information, vital company secrets, employee data, and more. A computer that isn’t properly wiped and disposed of could be recovered and have its critical information stolen.
Regulatory Compliance
Due to the reasons listed above, many countries, states, and even local municipalities have laws governing the disposal or recycling of electronic devices. Failing to follow these laws can lead to severe fines for individuals and businesses. If the computer contains sensitive information, these fines can be even more severe.
How to Prepare Your Computer for Disposal
Now that we understand the necessity of proper computer disposal, we can review the critical steps for preparing your PC. No matter what industry you work in, these are the basic steps everyone should take.
Back Up Critical Information
The first step is to ensure that any critical information stored on that computer is copied or transferred to another device to prevent losing vital data. Contact lists, documents, pictures, videos, and critical work tools are among the most common types of information that need to be backed up, whether by copying them to a new storage device or uploading them to a cloud storage solution.
Remove Batteries and Peripherals
Once you’ve copied all necessary information to its new destination, you can begin disassembling the computer itself. Start by unplugging the PC from its power source, then disconnect any connected peripherals, such as mice, keyboards, and cameras. These peripherals can easily be used on another device, so there’s no need to throw them out as well. If your device uses batteries, such as an industrial tablet or a battery-powered medical computer, you will also want to remove those as well. Batteries are a significant source of hazardous materials, as mentioned earlier, and should be either repurposed for another device or recycled.
Destroy all Records
After all of this is done, you now need to ensure that all confidential or private information is permanently deleted from the computer’s storage. This requires more than just pressing a few keys or dragging files to the Recycle Bin. Specialized programs that meet NIST 800-88 standards are ideal for this task, as they thoroughly erase data from a computer’s storage so it is impossible to retrieve.
In extreme cases, you may want to go all the way and physically destroy the drive to ensure that its contents can never be retrieved. A hammer or industrial-grade shredder will do the trick.
Best Ways to Dispose of Your Computer
After preparing your computer for disposal, you can take the next step to actually remove it from your possession. There are several options for handing your computer off, depending on your location, nearby programs, and your computer's use case.
Donate
Many charitable organizations and non-profits will accept a computer as long as it’s still in working condition (meaning a hard drive that has been wiped but not physically destroyed). These organizations are willing to take your computer, refurbish it, and use it for educational purposes or provide it to people in need.
Trade-In Programs
Depending on your manufacturer or retailer, you may be able to take advantage of a trade-in program, which lets you exchange your old computer for a newer model at a discount. This is especially useful for large-scale users such as industrial worksites and hospitals, as it lets you continue working with a trusted partner without going through a brand-new purchasing process. It also makes it easier to preserve pre-existing workflows and minimizes disruption, as new models from the same manufacturer are likely to closely resemble the units they replace.
Recycling
As mentioned earlier, recycling computers is essential given the valuable and toxic components inside them. Research your options for local e-waste recycling programs to ensure any decommissioned electronics are disposed of properly. This will help reduce your company’s overall environmental impact and support green computing initiatives.
Dispose of Your Computers Responsibly with Cybernet Manufacturing
While many focus on the purchasing and implementation of new PCs, understanding how to dispose of your computer is just as critical to being a responsible user. All electronics eventually reach the end of their life and need to be replaced; it’s up to you to do it the right way.
If you need a partner in disposing of your old computers, contact Cybernet Manufacturing. Our extensive customer support and environmental sustainability programs help you reduce your e-waste and maximize productivity with rugged, reliable, long-lasting industrial, medical, and enterprise computers.