How to Donate a Used PC

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), only 18 percent of "retired" personal computers, monitors, laptops, keyboards, mouse devices, printers and other peripherals are recycled. The rest of that equipment often ends up in landfills, leaching pollutants into the environment. To decrease this problem and extend the life of still-useful computer equipment, many organizations and equipment manufacturers have launched computer recycling or donation programs.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Used PC

1. Determine whether your old computer still works and is useful. If it's less than five years old, it still has a lot of life in it and is suitable for donation. If it's older than five years or not working properly, it's best to recycle it.

2. Run a disk-cleaning application on your computer to erase from the PC all your personal information, including emails, cookies, browser history, personal files, and items in the recycle bin and any other place that may store personal information. An example of a free disk-cleaning software is Active Kill Disk.

3. Contact a local not-for-profit organization, such as Goodwill, or a local school to ask about donating the computer if it's still in good working condition. Some larger charitable organizations even have designated drop-off areas or special events to which you can bring your computer for donation. Get a receipt for your donation because it could be a possible tax write-off.

4. Find a local recycling facility that specializes in electronics if your computer doesn't work, is obsolete or is not wanted by any local organizations. The Electronics TakeBack Coalition website (computertakeback.com) lists computer recycling facilities and groups by state.

5. Visit your computer manufacturer's website to determine if it has a program for disposing of old equipment if you can't donate your computer or recycle it locally. Some computer manufacturers, such as Dell and Sony, have donation and recycling programs in place that allow you to mail in your used computer for proper disposal or refurbishing.

Tips & Warnings

• Some recyclers charge fees for taking old computer equipment. This is especially true for monitors. If you decide to clear your PC of personal information yourself, make sure you use disk-cleaning software as an extra precaution. Try to keep the PC's operating system intact. The license for many operating systems is only valid for the computer it was originally installed on, and some organizations that accept donations of computers don't have the funds to buy new licenses. Don't forget about your old computer's peripherals, such as the keyboard, mouse and printer. Organizations often need these items too, while computer recyclers can usually salvage any useful computer parts before they break down the useless components.
• Never attempt to dismantle a PC by yourself before sending it to be recycled. Leave that work to professionals.

References

• Ten Tips for Donating a Computer
• Green Tech: Reduce Your Environmental Impact and Save Money
• Statistics on the Management of Used and End-of-Life Electronics

Resources

• Electronics TakeBack Coalition