Office IT Hardware Disposal, What Legally Needs to Be Recycled?

By Chris Keenan

Published 02/28/2021

It might be a scheduled upgrade or computer hardware failure, or maybe just a corporate clean out that causes you to replace your business’s IT and computer equipment.  The bottom line is, at some point your business computers will need replacing.  When that time comes, you’ll probably start looking for companies that provide corporate IT hardware disposal services.  However, do you really need a company to pick-up and recycle or your business’s old and unwanted corporate IT hardware?  The answer might surprise you.

Technically, if corporate IT hardware is broken, badly damaged, well-worn or working but obsolete you really should call a corporate IT hardware disposal company to come pick-up and recycle your e-waste.  IT hardware is classified as toxic waste due to the deadly materials used in its construction.  That means legally you will be prosecuted for failing to dispose of your corporate IT hardware correctly.  However, if there’s life left in those old corporate computers, flatscreen monitors, company laptops and office printers you don’t always need to recycle them.

A lot of business owned IT hardware has a second-hand value.  The second-hand sales tag for desktop computers, laptops and servers for example can be increased further with a simple clean and basic refurbishment.  Obviously, you don’t have the time to sort through your old corporate computer hardware and work out what to refurbish and what to recycle.  Most companies use IT asset disposition businesses (ITAD businesses) to manage the disposal of corporate IT hardware.  Just to confirm, there is a legal responsibility to have your corporate IT hardware disposed of responsibly but providing the disposal and data protection laws are adhered to you can choose to sell or donate IT equipment instead of recycling it.  Using an ITAD company will make the process of corporate IT hardware disposal hassle free and painless.   Furthermore, ITAD companies have to be fully certified and accountable, so when your business uses an ‘ITAD corporate IT hardware disposal company’ to dispose of your ewaste (either through selling, donating or recycling) you get legal certified proof of the process.

Of course, selling old corporate IT hardware keeps it in use, which is one of the best forms of recycling.  With that in mind, you don’t need to sell second-hand corporate IT hardware to reuse it.  You can always donate it? The YBC ITAD corporate IT hardware disposal program has a charity service that refurbishes and donates computer equipment.  The YBC ITAD corporate IT hardware disposal service can also resell your old IT hardware and gift the profits to a charity as well.  The YBC corporate IT hardware disposal program currently supports the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, a charitable organization that provides college scholarships and educational counseling to children who have lost a military parent in the line of duty.

Eventually, all corporate IT hardware becomes too obsolete to resell or gift, when this time comes it will need to be disposed of via recycling.   In terms of what actual corporate IT hardware needs to be disposed of via recycling please see the following list:

• Desktop & tower computers require disposal via recycling
• All workstation computer equipment must be recycled
• Laptops and notebooks disposal via recycling only
• Office PCs and Tablets disposal requires a recycling service
• Servers must be recycled when being disposed of
• Hard drives and data storage systems must be wiped or shredded and recycled
• Cell phones, smartphones and mobile phones need to be recycled
• Telephone systems and exchanges disposal should be recycled (R2 recommended)
• Computer network hardware disposal only via recycling
• Flatscreen computer monitors disposal service should include recycling
• CRT monitors hold large quantities of lead and must be recycled
• Office printers if they are not reusable, they must be recycled
• Photocopier recycling services need to include data destruction (copiers have hard drives)

The YBC IT asset disposition disposal service for corporate IT hardware accepts all of the above items a more.  If your business needs to arrange a pick-up to dispose of its corporate IT hardware please contact the YBC ITAD team today for help:  908 431 0090 or email info@ybc-itad.com.