Retiring Your PC

It's never easy getting rid of a computer you've used for a long time. But if that Pentium II is more useful as a footstool than a workstation, the time to part ways is long overdue. Sadly, there's no retirement home for old computers to go to (unless we count my office), so what's the best way to dispose of an unneeded PC?

If it still runs, you can check with local schools and nonprofit organizations who may need it. The National Cristina Foundation at www.cristina.org takes in old computers with Pentium II or higher processors and gives them to organizations that use the equipment to help people who are poor or disabled. FreeCycle.org is a similar site, but for a wider variety of computers and components.

Probably the worst thing to do with a working PC is to sell it, especially on an auction site like Ebay. Even computers a few years old won't get nearly what they did when they were new.

If you care at all about the environment, you can't dump your computer in the trash, even if it doesn't work. Computers have quite a bit of lead, chromium, cadmium, and other toxic chemicals in them. Regular "tube" monitors have even more lead -- up to eight pounds of the stuff to keep x-rays in. Clearly the local dump isn't the best place for your retired computer.

Ask your trash service if they can recycle computers; if not, a service such as PCDisposal.com is another option. You pay them $22 to take a tower, monitor or laptop and then ship it to them, where hard drives are wiped and the machines are either recycled or destroyed.

Ironically, Ebay is a better option for a broken computer than a functioning one. Geeks who can diagnose the problem with your dead computer will often get into bidding wars over otherwise useless machines, and with a low starting bid and plenty of information about the computer, even an average PC can make a decent profit. It's better than paying a company for the privilege of shipping them your broken PC.

Nobody likes dealing with an unwanted computer, but handling it responsibly can protect the environment, help people in need, and even give you a little extra money -- benefits you'd never see from throwing it away.