Years ago, your clients never would've had a problem finding "takers" for old PCs. After your clients got four or five productive years out of PC systems, they may have given the PCs to employees or sold them to employees for pennies on the dollar. Alternatively, many others donated PCs to local schools, charities or nonprofit organizations.

Changes in PC Recycling

In the past several years, this has all changed. In the U.S., about sixty percent of households own at least one PC. Schools and charities have become so deluged with PC donations that many get more selective on the equipment they're willing to accept.

In many areas, it's even illegal to dispose of a PC in a dumpster. Rather, the PC needs to be recycled. So how do you accomplish this?

Finding a PC Recycling Program

Several PC recycling programs and resources can help you and your clients comply with various environmental regulations as you dispose of long obsolete hardware.

• Dell Asset Recovery Services -- http://www.dellfinancialservices.com/solutions/asset_recovery.asp

• EIA Environment: Consumer Education Initiative (CEI) -- http://www.eiae.org/

• Gateway.com: Recycle/Donate Your Old PC -- http://www.gateway.com/home/programs/tradein_recycle.shtml

• HP Environment: Return and Recycling -- http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/community/environment/recycle.htm

• IBM PC Recycling Service -- http://www.ibm.com/ibm/environment/products/pcrservice.phtml

• International Association of Electronics Recyclers -- http://www.iaer.org/

• National Safety Council (U.S.) EPR2 Project Electronic Equipment Recyclers -- http://www.nsc.org/ehc/epr2/cntctlst.htm

If You Still Can't Find One

If any of the PC recycling resource addresses above are invalid by the time you're using this list, start at the home page of the website and look for links related to asset management, disposal or recycling. You can also try the website's search function or site map to look for PC recycling information.

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