How to donate old computers
to recycling centers near me.
If you’re here, you’re ready to save the 20,000 pounds worth of raw materials it took to build your old computer!
Not only does recycling your old computer or laptop liberate our burdened landfills, but it curbs the rampant spread of toxic e-waste. If your computer equipment is anywhere between five to eight years old, chances are it’s almost entirely salvageable and eligible for computer donation. Appearances can be deceptive, however, because even if your device seems like it’s expired and ready to be carted off on a stretcher, 98% of your computer can be recycled. If your machine cannot be donated, recycling companies dismantle your device manually or feed them to shredders to break down its components.
The best way to recycle a computer is to hand it over to someone who can use it. Between the pandemic and rising income gaps, globally only 33% of children and young people have internet access at home. Recycling charities gladly accept old electronics from people who don’t know what to do with an old laptop or computer and pass them on to disadvantaged communities and lower income brackets—most of whom rely on recycled computers.
Now that you’ve established that your computer is ready for a new life, you can commence your search.
If your device still has a spark of life, it can be outfitted with new parts to gain a second wind. Charities that accept and recycle computers are equipped to take your outdated computers and distribute them to communities in need. Anything that can’t be reused gets broken down and recycled, keeping the bulk of your e-waste out of landfills.
Start by searching your area for electronic recycling services, and consider boiling your options down to the right local charities. Computer recyclers specialize in reclaiming serviceable computer parts and breaking down what remains while ensuring the safe removal of hazardous and harmful substances such as lead, asbestos, or mercury.
Here are a few tips on how to best go about computer, laptop, and component donations:
1. Gauge Your Computer’s Reusability
If your computer or laptop is on its last legs but still in working condition, you can take your machine apart, assess it for parts and backup your data on a saved hard drive. You can also make use of a shedding program that overwrites your files and restores the machine to its factory settings. Make note, if you’re working with an old laptop, its battery may need to be recycled individually.
If you are working with an old desktop computer, you can donate your computer and monitor. Be sure to let us know if it’s in good working condition when you donate your old monitor. Don’t forget to gather your old computer components, including your keyboard and mouse!
2. Prepare To Send It To A Local Recycler
If you’re wondering where to recycle computers and old components, start by researching your local options in Lawrenceville. You could run a search of certified electronic and computer recyclers and pick the ones closest to your area, or use third-party search engines that offer categorized search options, which allow users to look up recyclers by location. Examples include:
– RecycleNation
– e-Stewards
– wm.com
You can also look into a local charity, school or library that may be accepting obsolete PCs. If you’re in or around the Atlanta area, we accept old electronics from Atlanta residents and wipe, clean, dismantle and donate them to individuals in disadvantaged communities who can use them.
3. Responsible Hardware Destruction
Aside from looking into e-waste recycling programs or free e-waste recycling events near you, malfunctioning or defunct laptops and computers should go to end-of-life recycling so that your old device can be processed and sorted in order to be reused later. You can safely discard end-of-life materials through take-back programs, certified computer recyclers, and registered refurbishers that accept old IT equipment. Or you can do it yourself by overwriting your drive and degaussing obsolete components.
4. Contact A Trustworthy Recycler Like New Life Technology Group
Recycling services may vary depending on where you live in Atlanta and the condition of your old computer. Be sure to check with your computer recycler to verify whether they accept the type of machine you plan to give away. You can always deep dive and check a recycler’s certifications and compliance records, which most trusted recyclers will have on their websites. It’s crucial to pick a computer recycler that implements good practices, will recycle electronics safely and doesn’t work solely for profit. The impacts of irresponsible e-waste recycling are far-spreading and have a significant impact on our planet.
5. Prepare To Send It To A Local Recycler
If you don’t have the time and simply don’t know how to dismantle your old devices, save them for your e-waste recycler. Most organizations such as schools, nonprofits, and charities won’t accept items with missing components. Everything from the keyboard, the circuit board and the battery to the glass monitor can be handed over, so long as it is intact.
If you have a Certificate of Authenticity, it’s useful to throw it in along with your donation as it can help third-party processors relicense your donated computer.
6. Give Away Your Computer Or Laptop
7. Take Note Of Your Computer Donation
Your old laptop helps shape someone’s future and diminishes the costs of building new systems. It’s also an eligible tax write-off, depending on the refurbisher or recycler you donate to. At New Life Technology Group, you collect the tax benefits for your contribution!
Best of all, New Life Technology Group is involved with local charities around the Atlanta area and will do our very best to refurbish your old computer or laptop to donate to a local charity to help benefit those in need!
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Is your location outside of our radius? No worries, just let us know! If there's a way to make special accommodations to pick up your computer donations, we'll find it!