Breaking up is hard to do. She just is not working for you anymore. Still, you hate to just get rid of her. After all, you’ve been together for so long, and you have been through so much together. Maybe you could just stick the old girl in the back of your closet, just for old times’ sake. Before you go calling the emergency number for the police, wait. Perhaps, I should clarify that I am not talking about your girlfriend. I would never advocate sticking a girl in the back of your closet and leaving her there. No, I am talking about your computer. You have had that computer for years. You wrote all your college papers on it. It houses all of the photos you have taken on your yearly trips to the beach. Parting with her would be such sweet sorrow. If you do make the leap and decide to get rid of her, consider computer recycling.
Why Should I Consider Computer Recycling?
First, and foremost, computer recycling is excellent for the environment. Computers and other consumer electronics are manufactured from valuable natural resources and other highly engineered materials, such as glass, plastic and different metals. It takes a lot of energy to turn those materials into the computer on your desk. Recycling computers conserves our natural energy resources, and helps prevent water and air pollution, as well as the emission of greenhouse gases. Did you know, for example, that we can save the energy equal to the electricity used for a year by more than 3,600 homes in the United States by recycling one million laptops? Did you know that one ton of circuit boards contains up to 40 times the copper and 800 times the gold mined from one ton of ore in the United States? Think about the positive impact we could have on our environment if everyone considered computer recycling. Currently, only about 25 percent of all consumer electronics are recycled at the end of their useful life.
Properly Preparing for Computer Recycling
Now that you are convinced that computer recycling is the proper way to dispose of your old computer, there is something you need to do to prepare for the big day. It is very important that you erase your personal data off the computer. Of course, you should back up everything you need before you wipe the computer clean. Many recycling centers offer to do this for you; however, I recommend you do it yourself for safety reasons. Note that deleting personal files is not enough. You need to take extra precaution and overwrite your hard drive. A quick search on any search engine will reveal some tools that can help you with this task.
