Often IT departments have a little hardware cemetery, filled with old or faulty laptops, printers, mobile phones, monitors and desktops. The main reasons are faulty devices with expired warranty or damaged in warranty voiding circumstances, even end of life or after upgrades. The picture shows an example, with old iPhones, damaged smartphones, old laptops and even faulty hard drives.
In this post I will try to share a few ideas to be a bit more environmentally conscious using DIY, creativity and qualified services. Keep in mind, that nowadays lots of devices are not made in a way that allows repairs and some ideas might not be applicable.
Spare parts
Using old or semi faulty devices as a source for spare parts is a great way of saving money and giving them a purpose. Most laptops, servers and desktops have lots of parts that can be reused in similar devices. The most common are hard-drives, RAM sticks, power supplies, graphic cards and cases. In laptops specifically, its also possible to reuse batteries, keyboards, track pads, screens and outer shells.
Licenses
Its possible to reuse operating system and software licenses in other devices and sometimes even resell. If the computer wont boot, try to clone it and run it an VM with the same MAC, it sometimes works.
Used Market
Selling older devices in good conditions as second hand or used, is great way to deal with device changes and earn some money. There are several options, such as “Employee Purchase Programs”, auction websites, street markets and specialized companies. The deciding factor between all the options is the amount of time the IT department can spend on it, local laws and the scale of the project. One of the most important things with this option is to inform the buyer that the sales are final and the lack of warranty and service, preferably by signing a waiver.
Donation
The proverb goes “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, its not uncommon for some companies to run or cooperate with foundations and charities, which sometimes opens the possibility to donate older devices.
Creativity
With a bit of DIY and creativity its possible to build used new things using old parts from laptops, desktops and cellphones. For example external hard-drives, portable monitors and even battery packs.
Recycling
Computers are made of unique and rare materials that can be recycled. If the devices cannot be reused in any other way, send the devices to a responsible and certified partner that will recycle them. If the amount is smalls often super markets have electronic waste bins that will accept them for free.
