Updated July 23, 2022
Children learning digital skills with recycled laptops

Time to Rethink Your Laptop Recycling Approach

First published on March 23, 2022

An unwanted, obsolete, or malfunctioning laptop is considered e-waste. It isn’t new that the recycling approach for such a laptop has faced a big challenge since the 1970s. Earlier, the laptop recycling approach was to dispose of them in a landfill, which ultimately threatened the environment and caused hazardous degradation.

However, with the advent of digitization and boost in IT services, new sustainable ways of laptop recycling approaches have been introduced in today’s era. People who scroll the internet to search for the "best ways to sell my used laptop" can now implement other eco-friendly ways to dispose of their e-waste. In many countries approaching middle-income status promise free primary education.

This article will give valuable insight into the drawbacks of the conventional laptop recycling approach and how sustainability emerged as a crucial part of the process. So, let’s start.

Laptop Recycling: Outdated Technology

Old and unwanted laptops are considered e-waste. But, what is actually e-waste? It’s the trash produced from unwanted, obsolete, surplus, and broken laptops or other electronic devices. E-waste is often called e-scraps too.

The new digitized world needs a rethinking to change the conventional style of laptop recycling. The old e-waste recycling method includes the disposal of electronic items like laptops directly in landfills. Now, these laptops are made up of hazardous materials and toxic chemicals. If you dispose of them carelessly in some landfills, they will release those toxic elements into the environment.

The reprocessing, restoration and re-use of the laptops must ensure sustainability. The world needs to adopt a sustainable recycling approach for recovering materials from their old or obsolete laptops to reduce the amount of e-waste and give a new purpose to the device.

Today, laptop recycling has become one of the most discussed issues globally due to its capability to reduce environmental pollution and degradation. However, there needs to be sustainability in these recycling approaches so that the laptop gets a new purpose to serve for years.

With sustainable laptop recycling, humankind will be successful in drastically reducing environmental pollution and its impacts from e-waste. The feasible recycling approach will help millions of laptops to get a new life rather than getting disposed of as e-waste in landfills.

Sustainable Laptop Recycling Approaches

You may have an old laptop that’s on its end-stage of lifespan. The truth is that a day will come when you have to let the device go. However, it’s crucial to stop and think before you decide to throw your useless laptop for disposal. Your laptop is made up of toxic materials, such as cadmium, arsenic, and lead, which can cause severe environmental problems if it gets disposed of in a landfill.

Although e-waste, including laptops, comprises only 2% of the US landfills, it is responsible for 70% of the entire toxic waste. So, you must try the eco-friendly sustainable recycling approaches to get rid of your old laptop instead of simply throwing them away.

Before trying any approach, you must wipe off and erase all your data from the old laptop. So, if you don’t want the laptop for personal use anymore and want to recycle it, then follow these sustainable ways and get started.

1. Give the Laptop to the Kids

You can keep your outdated laptop for your children’s use. However, you will have to ensure that the laptop has safe browsing enabled along with parental controls. After the pandemic, it’s quite evident that laptops and smartphones have become an integral part of today’s education system.

Eventually, your kid will need to use laptops. So why not let them use your old one rather than buy a new model. It will also help your kid learn the controls and how to use a laptop without any investment.

2. Give it to Your Family Members or Friends

It can be possible that your unwanted laptop can be of great use to one of your friends or family members. It’s always best to check on others to see whether they need a laptop or not. If you find someone close who needs a laptop for work or academics, then giving the device would help someone’s future. Why throw away something expensive when it can be valuable to someone close.

3. Sell Your Laptop Online

One of the best recycling approaches for your old laptop is to sell them. This way, you’ll earn money and contribute to a more eco-friendly way of getting rid of an old device. With top third-party software and platforms on the internet, selling your laptop should be a piece of cake for you. Many recycling companies and individuals buy used laptops for a reasonable price.

4. Donate the Laptop to Charity

Donating your obsolete and old laptop to charity is one of the best ways to shape someone’s life and future. Various charities ask for electronic devices as donations to help educate kids in remote parts of the world. Most charities have expert technicians who can repair your old appliance, make some changes, and get it ready to use for underprivileged children across the globe.


Final Words

If you want to recycle the obsolete laptops in your IT company, you can connect with an IT disposition company website. For individuals who want to dispose of their old laptops, try the above-mentioned sustainable ways to make the recycling process more valuable.