Getting Rid of Old Computer Systems: Problems and Solutions

- Corey Donovan, vice president of vibrant Technologies (www.vibrant.com), says:

Do I have to pay for removal?
In many cases, a remarketer will actually pay you for the right to recover and destroy your excess equipment. For equipment that is absolutely obsolete though, you will have to pay a small fee, per unit, to have it properly disposed of. Be sure to assess whether or not your equipment has resale value before paying to have it taken away.

Will my systems end up in a lake or landfill?
Find out what happens to your products downstream. Does the buyer/recycler have a no-landfill policy? Have they been certified by an independent agency? Do they send equipment overseas for processing? Do they take custody of the equipment? Even if the buyer takes custody, they must process the systems responsibly. Legal particulars will not matter if monitors associated with your business show up bobbing in the local pond. The public will point a finger in your direction.

What Can You Do With Used Equipment?

- Cliffie McKay, Head of Operations at DMD Systems Recovery (www.dmdsystems.com), says:



Decide what to do with the equipment

The value of computer equipment changes so fast that a computer worth $50 one month may only be worth $35 the next month. The best course to take is to work with a company that does quarterly or monthly pricing updates. This allows you to estimate the return on your IT assets. While some companies do market equipment themselves, it can be a costly and time consuming process. Whether it is through a retail site or auction, this typically requires additional time by your employees and can be cost prohibitive. Also, companies need to be careful when disposing of equipment. Improper disposal can lead to huge fines and negative publicity. Vetting your recycler is a very important part of the process as well. As a customer, you should be more than welcome to come tour their facility and request information about where your equipment ends its life. While deciding what to do with your excess equipment may seem like a small decision, the incorrect decision could lead to large penalties and negative publicity for your company.

Logistics and Deinstallation

Another common problem that companies run in to is asset deinstallation and logistics. Either their IT staff isn’t big enough to handle removing the old assets or they don’t have the ability to palletize and transport the old assets to the recycler. There are many asset management companies that can assist the datacenters with removing, palletizing, and transporting the equipment. This provides the company with one point of contact making the entire process very smooth. What should you look for in an asset management company that handles logistics? Make sure that they have the technical staff available to handle the deinstallation. Also, request references for work that they have done in the past and make sure that they can add your company to their insurance policy. Finally, teaming with an asset management company for logistics will, typically, get you more competitive transportation rates. Most asset management companies manage large shipments each week, therefore they get a better discount from the trucking companies.

Recycling & Reuse

There are two very confusing terms that Asset Management companies throw out: Recycling and Reuse. These two terms can be very confusing and are often used interchangeably. Recycling, by definition, is “to put or pass through a cycle again, as for further treatment.” At DMD Systems, we believe that the highest form of recycling is reuse. There are some beliefs that recycling is parting out each system to its main components, such as metals, circuit boards, etc., and melting those components down to be used again. At DMD, we call that process the ‘recovery’ process where we are extracting the metals, plastics, cable, and circuitry for reuse. One of the main ways to go green is by ‘reusing’ the equipment, whether that is through redeployment in your organization or resale by an asset management company. By extending the life of the computer, you are limiting the manufacturing of a new computer that would take its place. Therefore, your footprint is less by minimizing the manufacturing of the new computer and prolonging the timeline for demanufacturing of the current system.

What to do with your used tape media? Ask Recycle Your Media

- Brian Musil, founder of Recycle Your Media (www.recycleyourmedia.com), says:

How can RecycleYourMedia impact data centers?

Recycle Your Media offers all tape media using data centers a way to offset costs and recoup IT expenses while remaining environmentally conscious. The current economic climate strongly suggests that companies must, now more than ever, concentrate on budget concerns and financial modesty. Recycle Your Media will buy used data tape media allowing companies to recoup initial IT expenses. At the same time, the same corporations are able to purchase recertified media at a fraction of the cost of new tape media. It is a time in which businesses all have a corporate responsibility to protect the environment. When a company chooses to recycle its used tape media to Recycle Your Media, the company is also choosing to contribute to the elimination of e-waste.

What do our readers need to know about your company?

Recycle Your Media has been based in Newport Beach, Ca since 2005. RYM purchases used tape media for recycling purposes in addition to selling recertified tape media globally. RYM is a leader in the data tape recycling industry and continues to grow even through this difficult economic time.

Brian Musil is founder and VP of RYM. Musil has been in the industry for close to nine years. With a background in business and marketing, Musil recognized a need for an ecological solution to e-waste and had the foresight to see an increasing demand for an economical solution; and decided to create RYM.

RYM purchases end of life data tape media, offering an ecological and economically savvy data destruction alternative to shredding. In addition to protecting the environment, RYM ensures complete data erasure and confidentiality complete with a certificate of data destruction. A Volser report is also given at the time of destruction, giving the company a full and detailed list of all tapes put through the process. Once data has been eradicated, each tape is put through a 12-point inspection process. All tape media that pass the inspection are repackaged and sold as certified for re-use tape media offering blank tape media at a discounted rate.

What makes RecycleYourMedia unique?

Recycle Your Media puts data security and like-new quality above all else. They stand behind their product and service with a 90 day money back guarantee as well as a lifetime warranty on all certified for re-use tape media. RYM’s standards are set above all other companies in the industry.

Recycle Your Media offers (to our most data sensitive customers) in-house data destruction, volser reports, and certificates of data eradication upon request. We also provide secure locked, armed and alarmed transport to our facility. Recycle Your Media welcomes interested data center professionals to tour the facility and will negotiate your legal proposals to fit your companies needs and concerns. All of Recycle Your Medias data eradication processes meet and/or exceed all laws, acts and compliances such as D.O.D and HIPPA standards for data eradication.