What Happens to a Computer when it’s recycled?

By March 1, 2014Computer Recycling

Once your computer hardware and IT equipment becomes redundant you have a corporate social responsibility to ensure they’re disposed of correctly. This can be done in many ways but it all counts as a recycling process and ensures your computer doesn’t end up on a landfill, in contravention of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) 2003 Directive.trailer movie Polina

What’s in a PC?

The components of a standard PC make them quite complex to recycle in the traditional way. It includes up to 23% plastics, 32% ferrous metals and 12% electronic boards. It also includes high quantities of lead, glass and non-ferrous metals making traditional recycling different. Therefore specialised companies try different methods before regular recycling.

Resell and Recycle IT Equipment

At Buy I.T. Back the procedure is to try and salvage as much workable equipment as possible. The service is designed to ensure businesses maximise their return by reselling equipment at the best possible prices where possible and reselling and recycling through sale is always the first option.

When it’s clear an item can’t be resold then it’s time to find a recycling specialist, who meets the WEEE Directive regulations. Recycling companies will dismantle the computer and break it down into parts which may be able to be sold or may need to be recycled completely and reused for other purposes – it’s entirely dependent on the equipment involved and its current state.

Recycling Computer Equipment is the Law

As a business owner you are responsible for the safe and legal disposal of your used computer equipment. It’s no longer acceptable to just throw it out and hope for the best. Regulations state it must be recycled and how you choose to do this is up to you but of course the best method is to get the most back from your used equipment.

Reselling IT equipment gives you the chance to make a little back on your equipment and invest this back into the company, perhaps offsetting the costs of the new equipment or to be used in another way for the benefit of your company.

Recycling always sounds like something which sees the item in question ripped to pieces and rebuilt into something else. This isn’t always the case. If you choose to handover your old equipment to a charity for example this is also recycling and if you get a cash payment for your items due to resale it’s still the same recycling process.

It’s your responsibility to ensure your used computer equipment is recycled responsibly and utilising a buy back scheme is an effective way to do so.

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