Out With The Old
 By Patrick L. Wynne

Does the New Year mean new computers and peripherals to replace the old ones in your small business? Are old monitors, modems and fax machines already stacking up in the storage room?

Yesterday’s office equipment becomes today’s heap of useless metal and silicon, aluminum and copper, mercury and PCBs, cadmium and lead. Even gold, though in tiny quantities.

Much of this stuff is toxic, so dumping it in the trash isn’t an option. Some states, such as California and Massachusetts, have or are considering laws that criminalize improper disposal of electronic waste. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates the disposal of large quantities, including computer monitors and other electronics.

What’s a small-business owner to do with all of this outdated equipment?

Here are two options: recycle or donate. And there is something else to do regardless of which option you choose: permanently erase all personal and business data from the hard drives.

Recycle

The disposal of old computers can require much effort and expense. But private companies and government agencies are ready to help.

IBM’s Asset Recovery Solutions, http://www-03.ibm.com/financing/us/recovery/, will buy back select equipment from businesses of any size. IBM pays based on the equipment’s market value, but you’re responsible for shipping charges.

To qualify, the equipment must be marketable in IBM’s estimate, meaning it must be in demand for resale. Check the IBM Web site http://www-03.ibm.com/financing/us/recovery/small/index.html for the types of computer gear IBM buys back.

Other computer companies, such as Gateway, offer similar programs. Gateway also offers rebates up to $50 on new Gateway equipment when you recycle your old equipment to qualified organizations.

Equipment that can’t be resold can be recycled for a small fee with manufacturers such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard and IBM.

Some municipalities, such as Los Angeles County government, will accept your recycled computer equipment without charge at periodic curbside pickups or regional drop-off centers. Check with your local authorities for programs in your area.

Donate

Another alternative is to donate your old equipment to those who can use it. Your accountant can tell you how to determine the value of the donations for tax deduction purposes. Keep in mind that demand is understandably higher for newer equipment, and that no one accepts junk.

Nevertheless, there are many options for donating your old equipment, like schools and churches and even the more esoteric, such as the Speculative Literature Foundation’s technology exchange program. The foundation promotes literary quality among writers of science fiction, fantasy, horror and similar genres and provides computers to budding writers who need them. You can check out the program at http://www.speculativeliterature.org/Awards/TechnologyExchange.php.

A spin through the Yellow Pages or a Web search for nonprofit or charitable organizations should garner many eligible candidates for your donated equipment.

Remove data

For the same reason you shred old paper financial records, you should ensure that no private or business data remains on the hard drives that you recycle or donate.

Some recyclers and purchasers of used equipment promise to clean your hard drives as part of their service. But to be prudent, you may want to make sure that the equipment you give away carries no trace of records that could compromise your business-client relationships, your financial information or provide a basis for identity theft.

There are private services that will erase your hard drives for you, including IBM’s Asset Recovery Solutions program. But for a few dollars and a few minutes of your own time, you can do it yourself with one of many software programs. (Don’t think that reformatting a hard drive wipes away all data. A skilled hacker can recover much from a reformatted drive.)

Dedicated commercial software solutions that achieve the level of security you need include products such as Blancco’s Data Cleaner+, http://blancco.com/main.site?action=siteupdate/view&id=20>. You can also find free programs online, including Active@ Kill Disk, http://www.killdisk.com/.

(Posted January 2006)

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