Answer: That’s a question we get a lot, Regina. Thanks for asking. Although certain details about your computer and your family situation are unknown, I’ll do my best to give you some good options.
First of all, if the computer hardware is functional, then it may make a great gift for a child or grandchild. I have also seen some families set up a spare computer as a “guest” computer, for people to use when they come over (this works especially well with grandchildren).
If you don’t have any children or grandchildren who are in need of a computer, perhaps you know of a neighbor who who would love to have one. An unfortunate byproduct of our current economy is that you rarely have to go far to find someone affected by it.
If neither of those options work for you, donating your computer to a school or church is a wonderful idea, as they always know of families in need. There may even be a tax deduction involved, but check with your tax professional on that one.
If you decide to either donate the computer, you have the satisfaction of knowing that:
- You have helped someone in need
- You have given someone (perhaps a child) an amazing educational opportunity
- You have kept a piece of electronic waste out of a landfill
On the other hand, if the computer is not functional, you may have an extra step involved.
Depending on the age of the computer and what is wrong, you may want to see how much it would cost to repair. I wouldn’t advise repairing any computer more than 7 or 8 years old, though. If your computer is between 5 and 8 years old, I would limit the repair to about $100. If it’s less than 5 years old, you may want to spend a little more as the computer probably has at least a few more years left in it.
If the computer is older than 8 years old, or unfixable, the only thing to do is “recycle” it. Notice the sacastic quotes around recycle? I can’t in good conscience tell you about electronics recycling without giving you some scary facts: According to the EPA, 82% of the 2.5 million tons of electronic debris produced by the United States each year goes into landfills.
However, sometimes recycling is the only option for outdated and broken equipment. At Aspen Computer Services, we do our best to recycle old laptop parts (the parts can be reused in many cases), so if you have an old or broken laptop that you want to recycle, give us a call us at (970) 292-7501. We will come pick up your old laptop for free.
Otherwise, Office Depot in Fort Collins and Loveland recycles old monitors, desktop computers, cell phones and other electronic equipment.
Warning: Do not donate, sell or recycle, any computer equipment before reading our article on computer recycling and identity theft over on our Squidoo Lens: http://www.squidoo.com/computer-recycling-identity-theft
Feel free to call us anytime to schedule an appointment for computer repair and general computer service in the Fort Collins or Loveland area.
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