How Can You Get Rid of Old IT Equipment

We’ve all been there, someone in the office has complained that their computer crashes or takes too long to load and makes a point that the company is losing valuable working time, until finally an order is placed for a new PC. But here comes that question all too easily ignored, ‘what do I do with the old PC?’ Many don’t know their options, so most PCs and Laptops get taken to the store cupboard to join the old keyboards and mice that have had the same fate.

In truth, this doesn’t just happen with one-off PC’s, it happens when entire departments upgrade their equipment or switch from PC’s to laptops, as so many of us have done during the pandemic

Hundreds of thousands of pieces of IT equipment are sat in offices throughout the UK because everyone knows you can’t just throw away company equipment with data on it, but what do you do with the old IT equipment?

IT equipment depreciates at a considerable rate each year, essentially this means once the item reaches its ‘end of life’ the organisation can write it off as an asset but what happens with the items?

Companies can look to sell equipment privately but it’s important to consider the data held on certain devices. Take into the cost of data-wiping, the time to try and sell the item and finally logging the sale on accounting software, it’s understandable the cupboard seems a good option.

There is the green solution, knowing the equipment has been broken down and recycled will seem like a good idea, but this option could cost a pretty penny.

Perhaps it would be easier to give it away, especially if the data wasn’t stored there. Unfortunately restoring to factory settings doesn’t ensure the data has gone for good and you can’t take that risk.

There is one other solution that is free, convenient and time saving; donating unused IT equipment to The Air Ambulance Service.

The Air Ambulance Service can arrange a free collection of surplus IT Equipment* take it back to a secure locked enclosure, where our experienced teams will data-wipe the equipment using the best software possible, test it, clean it up and sell it on.

But how is this all legitimate?

• We send a tamper proof certificate for each item data-wiped to be kept on file to prove that any end-of-life technology was disposed of in a safe and secure way.
• It is even better than recycling. Recycling in itself is an intensive process, let the items be reused instead and give them a new lease of life whilst raising funds for a vital service.
• This service can help an organisation hit it’s CSR goals of reducing its carbon footprint – win, win.

Last but not least, donating equipment to The Air Ambulance Service saves lives (and clears up cupboard space), so go for it, get in touch and clear those cupboards.

*Business donors only, items can include PC’s, laptops, all-in-ones, servers, tablets and mobiles restored to factory settings, desktop printers, widescreen monitors, networking gear etc.