A laptop that served you, that kept with you in good times and bad, deserves a good send off. If not a wake, a private “I will miss you” would be nice. The riddance itself could mean careful planning. Dumping the computer dude in a dump is a serious offence, just like DUI. Most electronic components are non-biodegradable and some are even toxic.

Brian Reich has a wonderful article about responsible disposing of computer equipment. Of the three R’s — Recycling, Reducing and Reusing — he says that while the former is catching up, the latter two are preferrable.

For those in a hurry, here is the gist of the article. But don’t forget to bookmark this and get back to it later.

1. Buy quality products. Consider that extra pay as an investment than an expense.
2. For reasons of law and security, wipe your hard drive clean before initiating disposing. Before you do that, back up.
3. Resell and consider buying resold goods.
4. Donate. Libraries, charity organizations, poor students,…
5. If you can’t resell or donate, recycle. Earth 911 and UNICOR Recycling Program can be your place to start. If these services don’t offer any viable solution in your locality, you can always call the service center of the company from which you bought the hardware and give it back to them.

Post from: EveryJoe

Responsible Disposing of E-waste