How to recycle an old desktop PC?

[DulwichLondoner]

Is there any way to recycle an old desktop PC (no monitor) locally? Other than taking it to the council?s recycle centre near the Old Kent road ? I don?t have a car and carrying the whole thing there is not particularly straightforward; I haven?t weighted it but the case alone is 9 kg, so with all the parts it will be at least 11 Kg.

By recycling it I mean getting rid of it in the least environmentally harmful way, not donate it; I can?t donate it because, long story short, many parts have developed hardware faults so I suspect the thingy will not last much longer.

There are ads for people collecting all kinds of rubbish; it would be more convenient, and possibly cheaper, than taking a taxi to the recycle centre, but how do I know these chaps won?t just dump everything in some abandoned field? Do they need some kind of licence and, if so, can I check it (eg confirming their registration with the council)?

I will probably get a custom-built PC at PcSpecialist or CyberPowerSystems; however, neither recycles old PCs (which makes sense as they deliver with a courier like UPS).

PS I know I should do a secure wipe of the hard disks before getting rid of them.

[Bic Basher]

Old PC's can be taken to the following libraries in Lewisham as a PC recycling company manages those libraries.

Crofton Park

Grove Park

New Cross

Sydenham

[DulwichLondoner]

Thanks! I had no idea. Taking the 176 to the Sydenham library seems the most convenient solution.

I'll call to check, but do you know if I can take it there even if I am a Southwark, not Lewisham, resident?

[BigED]

You could try not telling them...

[Penguin68]

I would do more than just a 'secure wipe' of any data media. Certainly run a hard wipe, (ideally several, this writes random data across the whole disk) and then remove the hard-drive from the tower and smash it with a hammer. Data can still (potentially) be recovered from even this - but it would need some serious technical know how and equipment, and the chances are than any data which was recovered would be benign.

Edited to add - computers are full of bits which are worth recovering for recycling, including rare-earth components. Even where the overall performance is flaky there may still be components which can be re-used as-is, although most would be quite old technology, I'm guessing.

[Loz]

Penguin68 Wrote:

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> Edited to add - computers are full of bits [...]

Chortle.

[Penguin68]

Bits but not, if you've physically destroyed your HD, bytes

[DulwichLondoner]

@Penguin68, when I donated a fully working PC in the past, or when I sell a used mobile on ebay, I always use software which wipes the data, overwrites it with random data, and wipes it again. I do this multiple times. Maybe spooks from MI5 or GCHQ could still retrieve something, not sure about that :)

The problem I have now is that one of my 3 hard drives (1 ssd to boot up the system quickly + 2 data drives) is throwing a tantrum. It disappears and reappears randomly. If it's the motherboard controller, I can still wipe it. If it's the disk itself, I'm not sure what I could do - other than smashing it with a hammer! :)

[Loz]

DulwichLondoner Wrote:

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> The problem I have now is that one of my 3 hard

> drives (1 ssd to boot up the system quickly + 2

> data drives) is throwing a tantrum. It disappears

> and reappears randomly. If it's the motherboard

> controller, I can still wipe it. If it's the disk

> itself, I'm not sure what I could do - other than

> smashing it with a hammer! :)

If it's a SATA drive, you can pick up a cheap enclosure (with USB connection) on Amazon for about ?8. If that's doesn't talk to it, you can assume the drive is shot.

[DulwichLondoner]

Thanks. Yes, it's SATA, and in fact I already have a USB sata docking station. I'll test it as soon as I have the time. My point is I wouldn't know how to wipe the data from the disk if the disk is broken and I cannot connect it to a PC.

[DulwichLondoner]

Penguin68 Wrote:

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> Even where the overall

> performance is flaky there may still be components

> which can be re-used as-is, although most would be

> quite old technology, I'm guessing.

Well, IT obsolescence is not what it used to be when I was a kid. The problem is that I am afraid only few parts may be reusable, and I'm not sure how to donate them.

The case, the CPU and its cooling fan should still be reusable, but it's hard to donate just them.

2 of the 3 hard drives should still work - I might be able to sell them on ebay after wiping them.

A PCI wifi card still works - but new ones are so cheap anyway.

The RAM, I suppose, but I'm not sure about the exact specs (frequency, etc).

The motherboard is faulty. The video card died years ago and I didn't replace it - just using the integrated one.

[Townleygreen]

I am afraid that charity is no longer able to take old PCs as it would cost them money nowadays.

They do accept working laptops though.

Shops that sell PCs are obliged by the government to take them though - PC World?

[Penguin68]

Well, IT obsolescence is not what it used to be when I was a kid. The problem is that I am afraid only few parts may be reusable, and I'm not sure how to donate them.

I wasn't really suggesting donation - I was noting that dead PCs are often sold on to recyclers by disposal companies - I think they are broken down for component parts and materials in e.g. the Far East. So much can be recovered rather than going to land-fill. If you take it to the council dump I think you will find it joins other such material. So much of it will eventually be reused (apart from any plastic housings I would guess).

[DulwichLondoner]

Townleygreen Wrote:

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> Shops that sell PCs are obliged by the government

> to take them though - PC World?

Not really an option. I prefer to have a custom built PC put together by guys like PC specialist or Cyber Power Systems, which then ship it to me.

Even if I did like one of the PC World or John Lewis PCs, I'd still need to take my old one there to have it recycled - not straightforward without a car.

[Bic Basher]

DulwichLondoner Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Thanks! I had no idea. Taking the 176 to the

> Sydenham library seems the most convenient

> solution.

> I'll call to check, but do you know if I can take

> it there even if I am a Southwark, not Lewisham,

> resident?

They'll take them regardless of where they come from. However Sydenham Library is down the Bell Green end of Sydenham Road, so you'd need to change for the 202 in Kirkdale/Cobbs Corner.

[ianr]

I'm looking for at least a very short loan of a an ATX power supply unit with 24 pin connector (fairly standard for PCs), to do a substitution test. My PC's developed a classic symptom - shutting down a second after power-on, just enough time to give the fans a quick whirl. I've narrowed the problem down to power supply or motherboard.

[PSJ]

@ianr

I just had this problem with a Dell - turned out to be the power-switch cable (the cable from the power button to the motherboard).