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Lots of people ask what to do with old computers because they’re hard to get rid of. Other than the fact that nobody seems to want an old computer, figuring out what to do with old computers is more complicated because of all the harmful chemicals a computer has in it. When you want to get rid of an old PC or laptop, you’ve got to be careful who you trust.
Computers Get Old Quickly
One of the major reasons why what to do with old computers is such a big deal is because computers get old at a ridiculously fast pace. No matter how much you paid for your computer, it seems like by the time you get it to your car it’s an 8-track tape player with the greatest hits of 1975 stuck inside. If you’ve never heard of Moore’s Law, it basically says that computer speed and storage capacity will double every 5 years or less. This has been the case for about 80 years, and it’s showing no signs of slowing. Most people don’t even use half their hard drive before enough other things on their computer fail that keeping it around isn’t worth the hardship. Thus, what to do with old computers isn’t something to think about years from now, like you can with a house or a car. Your computer may fail only a year or two after you buy it new.
What to Do With Old Computers
Fix or Replace? Replace!
If computers were like most things, you could keep them for years and just work on them yourself or have “a guy” who fixes them every so often. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. By the time you even find a repair shop, you’ve already lost precious time you could spend being productive — or watching cat videos, it’s all you. What to do with old computers isn’t an academic question after about a year — when you can pay someone a bunch of money to keep your computer running for awhile or just toss it and get a new one, asking what to do with old computers becomes a “no duh” kind of answer. You get rid of them, but there are issues with just putting them out at the curb.
Hurting the Environment Isn’t Cool
Some folks think you can just drop your computer in the trash can and call it a day. But just like everything technology-related, what to do with old computers has a more complicated answer than that. When you think about what to do with old computers, you have to remember that your parents were right — what’s inside really does count. Only, instead of being full of love, computers have things like lead, mercury and other nasty things that’ll hurt the environment. Unless you want hourly visits from a crying little bunny over ruining his habitat, you have to decide what to do with old computers using a little more sense than, “Just toss it.” Namely, you need to enlist the help of someone who disposes of computers in an environmentally friendly manner.
Not Being Green Can Even Be Illegal
Believe it or not, polluting is actually illegal most places. If you get caught, which eventually happens when you have to decide what to do with old computers on a regular basis, you could face some stiff fines. Beyond that, you may be forced to stop doing business if the government isn’t interested in your trashy ways. So when you consider what to do with old computers, contract with a service that will follow the laws and make the environment a little bit cleaner.
