Almost all of us have faced the problem of discarding old computers and computer parts in the past. Computers become obsolete so quickly, the problem will not be getting any smaller in the future. It is unlawful to dispose of any computers in the normal landfill since they contain elements that can poison the landfill site and then contaminate our soil and water resources over time.

While there are companies that actually recycle the computers by grinding them into small pieces for processing to remove the gold, this process is expensive and these plants are probably not located anywhere near your home or business (there is gold in every computer, but the total value in a single computer is less than $2.00).

A much more desirable recycling process involves donating the computer to a company which can actually use the computers by making them available to needy children both here in the U.S. and abroad. The processes for making the donation varies with each organization and is a little more complicated than just putting the pc on the curb, but the effort you make to provide computers for needy children is very much worth the effort! The computer that is just too slow to run your Quickbooks program will be just fine for a youngster who is just learning to type or surf the internet. And even if your old computer will not turn on at all, some of the components can be used to make another system work fine. If you are discarding an old Dell PC, you will find the recycle process especially simple; log on using the link below, box and tag the unit and place it on the curb for pickup. And, of course you can drop off your old pc at the nearest Goodwill donations center!

You should be aware that it is very important to remove all your personal data before you donate your computer! In particular, be sure you remove all documents that reference any personal information such as bank statements, account numbers, social security numbers, etc. And you should also be aware that deleting these types of documents does not actually erase them from your hard disk drive!

Click here to download a small program to wipe your personal information from your computer prior to donating it. Be very careful using this program since you can easily erase your entire hard disk drive if you click on the wrong button! Feel free to call me at the number below if you need help using this program.

Here are four options you should consider for your recycling projects. You might want to bookmark this page for reference in the future. Click on the link to review their homepage.

• Goodwill donations center lookup

• Ecycling Central

• Texans Can - Cars for Kids    

• National Christina Foundation

• Dell Brand PC's only

• Throwplace

Contact me at the number below or send me an email if you have questions or need assistance