Recycling Computers
Small Businesses and Large Enterprises Alike Can Do Their Part to Help Save e Environment and Improve their Communities
When large enterprises make technology purchases, their IT department has likely thought out the entire process from purchase to delivery, to use and what to do when the technology becomes obsolete. For small business owners, you have more pressing things on your minds than what to do with your computer, printer or server once it is outdated. But an end-of-life technology strategy is worthwhile to help you better manage your technology investments and keep old equipment from cluttering your break room or home garage.
However, disposal of old equipment, also called asset recovery, is not something that is top of mind with the majority of small business owners. And in many cases, even if you were conscious about recycling and disposing of equipment in a safe way, you don't have the resources to properly remove old equipment. With Dell's Asset Recovery Services, small businesses can take advantage of a seamless process that helps you take care of outdated equipment in an efficient and environmentally safe way.
"Another concern for small businesses is to be wary of how you dispose of old equipment," said Eric Gates, senior manager for Worldwide Asset Recovery Services at Dell.
Often small businesses are hesitant to recycle or refurbish old IT equipment because of the sensitive data stored on the hard drive. Moreover, government regulations, privacy laws and company policies may also require that certain documents be kept private. So what do you do when your company needs new PCs? Dell's Asset Recovery Services is a good example of a service to use — it wipes the hard drives clean for you and even provides documentation that proves the data has been disposed of properly.* Once the old equipment has been cleaned, small businesses have the option of choosing whether to sell it back to Dell, donate it or recycle it.
Getting the Most Out of Your IT Purchase
Dell recommends refreshing notebooks every 24 months (desktops every 36) — mainly due to the wear and tear on the PC and new technology developments — but the technology inside is often still economically viable.
With Dell's Value Recovery Service* Dell will assess the value of your current notebooks, desktops and servers and buy back re-usable equipment to refurbish it for different purposes. This enables small businesses to capitalize on the technology refresh to receive a discount toward your next technology purchase.
"We want to ensure our small business customers can scale their technology infrastructure without losing the value of the initial investment," added Gates. "With Dell's value recovery option, these businesses can refresh their technology to keep up with the latest innovations, without worrying about exorbitant costs."
How does it work? First, a small business must have at least 10 systems to qualify for value recovery. Next, call your sales account manager to assess the value of your current equipment. Once a price has been agreed upon, select the new technology for your next purchase. Dell will coordinate pick up of the old hardware, data wiping it for security purposes and delivery of the new equipment.
What if the Technology is No Longer Viable?
In an increasingly environmentally conscious world, more and more companies are making decisions that are best for their communities and the world. This is no small feat for small businesses, where technology investments are difficult enough to manage without the added expense of disposal. However, some IT hardware is just too old or damaged to be re-used.
If it can't be bought back and refurbished or donated, Dell's Asset Recovery Services can dispose of the equipment in an environmentally sound manner, keeping your hardware out of community landfills. Any core materials that can be re-used or recycled are stripped from the machine and everything else is broken down and disposed of according to EPA (Environmental Protection Authority) guidelines. When the disposal is complete, Dell will provide you with a Certificate of Disposal, verifying that disks have been either overwritten or shredded* and that the system was recycled in accordance with local, state and federal guidelines.
"Dell is committed to keeping unnecessary hardware out of the world's landfills," Gates said. "With this in mind, Asset Recovery Services were designed to ensure that every piece and part of IT hardware is re-used, recycled, refurbished or disposed of in the most environmentally safe manner."
Click here to learn more about Dell's Asset Recovery Services.
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