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Start with the data, not the scrap
Old computers usually still hold accounts, customer records, emails, passwords and personal files. Deleting files or formatting a drive does not reliably remove that data. Recovery tools can often bring it back.
Before any computer leaves your premises:
- Back up anything you still need and confirm the backup opens.
- Sign out of accounts and remove the machine from any company systems or licences.
- Wipe the drive properly. Use a tool designed to overwrite the whole disk, or the manufacturer's secure-erase function for SSDs.
- If a drive cannot be wiped, because it is dead or you are unsure, remove it and destroy it physically, or hand it to a buyer who will destroy it and give you a written record.
- Keep a simple list of which machines and drives were wiped or destroyed, and when.
Phones, tablets, network storage boxes and some printers and copiers also store data. Treat them the same way.
Reuse, refurbish or recycle?
| Condition | Best route |
|---|---|
| Working, a few years old | Reuse in-house, donate, or sell as a working unit |
| Repairable, needs a part | Sell to a refurbisher |
| Dead, very old or damaged | Recycle as e-waste |
A working machine is almost always worth more as a computer than as scrap. Recycling should be the last step, not the first.
Where the value is when it is scrap
When a computer is recycled, value comes from separating it into materials:
- Circuit boards, which contain small amounts of precious metals and are graded by type
- Copper in cables, power supplies and cooling parts
- Aluminium and steel from cases and frames
- Hard drives, after data destruction, for their metals and magnets
- Plastics from cases and keyboards
Old CRT monitors and some laptop batteries need special handling and can cost money to dispose of rather than earning it.
Your obligations as a business
India's e-waste rules put responsibilities on businesses that generate electronic waste, not only on manufacturers. In general terms, businesses are expected to hand e-waste to authorised channels and keep records of what they disposed of. See our guide to India's e-waste rules for more detail.
Selling old computers to an unregistered buyer may be quick, but it can leave you without proper records and with no idea where your data-bearing devices ended up.
A simple checklist
- List every device with its condition.
- Back up and wipe, or remove and destroy, every storage device.
- Set aside working machines for reuse or resale.
- Hand the rest to an authorised e-waste buyer.
- Get a receipt or certificate and keep it with your records.
How we handle office e-waste. We list what we collect, separate reusable units from scrap, and can remove drives in front of you so you keep or destroy them yourself.
Clearing old computers or office equipment?
Send us a list or photographs of what you have: desktops, laptops, monitors, printers, UPS units. We will tell you what can be reused and what goes for recycling.