Best Practices for Computer Maintenance

Computer Disposal Our organization is considering the replacement of our 500 computers due to the fact that they are outdated and the advancement of computer designs .They have become obsolete and therefore it warrants for their replacement with new cones in the market and in use. Therefore this paper will ok at a plan on how this computers will be disposed and at the same time limiting any environmental impact of the computers when they are being disposed.

First I would ensure that the hard drives of the computers are thoroughly wiped. This is to ensure that no personal data of the organization is stored in the computers prior to their disposal. The biggest concern will be if the old computers are disposed with private data which might end up in the wrong hands. Alternatively the hard drives can be destroyed completely through crushing them. Once the hard drives have been cleaned or destroyed then the next step comes in.

After this there are three options available for the outdated computers these are recycling, re-using and trading in (Conjecture Corporation, 2012). The manufacturers of these outdated computers will then be contacted and inquires made if they can take back these outdated computers and recycle them. If the manufactures do not have this service then there can be consideration of taking the computers to electronic recycling companies who have specialized equipment and staff that is highly trained.

The local waste management companies can also be contacted and find out when the e-waste collection dates are. These crews have the mandate to collect the unwanted electronics which will include our outdated computers where they will take them for proper recycling. The computers can also be taken directly to companies that handle e-waste and we will find out how they handle these computers and only give them a chance if they are actually recycling them in the right way. Meyer, Young, & Ella, 2009).

The second option is reusing the old computers; Just because the computers are obsolete to our organizations it does not mean that they can not help other people .if there are no recycling services being offered then we can consider reselling the computers since they do not have any faults rather they are just outdated.

We can even consider approaching organizations that run charity in the area and they can asses if the computers can be put into use giving people starter machines to get them into the information age or simply donating the machines to schools or organizations that can put them into use who can take these computers gladly with open arms. Finally trade-in programs have been developed by many manufacturing companies facilitates the donation, trading or selling used computers (Meyer, Young,&Ella,2009).

All these proposed methods of disposing the outdated computers are environmentally friendly, this is due to the fact that the computers and monitors are made up of substances that have toxic levels such as mercury, cadmium, arsenic and beryllium all these substances are considered to be unfriendly to the environment.

If these outdated computers are disposed in a method that is not appropriate then some of these substances might end up entering the environment that will cause pollution and the death of plants and animals and at the same time can lead to birth defects. Most of the components of the computers are produced in ways that are unsustainable that will cause even more environmental harm. Since these components can be recovered and recycled it means that throwing away these outdated computers as a method of.