There are many compelling reasons to recycle obsolete electronic equipment, including protection of sensitive information and avoidance of environmental liability.

If a computer is working, then it's still useful, right? Although resale and reuse are sometimes an option, in most cases the current pace of technology has rendered many working systems obsolete. Resale and donation simply pass the disposal problem to another party, often someone less well-equipped to deal with it properly.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment even warns on their website not to attempt to "dump" your old, unusable equipment on these entities in an effort to avoid your own waste management responsibilities.

Recycling is the best choice once equipment has reached the end of its useful life. It keeps toxic compounds out of our landfills and helps to conserve our natural resources. There are many compelling reasons to recycle obsolete electronic equipment, including protection of sensitive information and avoidance of environmental liability.

Electronics contain pollutants such as lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, phosphorous, lithium, and polycarbons. Electronics that are dumped in the trash often end up in landfills, where these substances can leach into the groundwater and soil. Flame retardant chemicals in computer plastics can release highly toxic dioxins when burned in trash incinerators.

Data security is an ongoing concern for many individuals and organizations. When our partner receives electronics for recycling, they don't simply wipe data from hard drives, they physically destroy your hard drive by sending it through a giant shredder.

Since these materials are never sent to landfills, no one has the opportunity to grab a hard drive and access information. By completely de-manufacturing electronics and sending data containing devices through the shredder, no one can gain access to information that was once stored on the equipment.

Yes. ABS has established a partnership with a leading electronic recycling firm. We believe strongly in environmental stewardship and feel that as a technology support provider, we should lead the way in promoting responsibility. Thus, we simply pass on our costs for recycling, rather than attempt to profit from the process.

The pricing matrix displays the costs for commonly recycled electronics. If you have oversized items, we’ll be happy to create a quote for you. Items can either be dropped off at our offices, or we can pick up from your location for an additional fee.

When recyclers pay people to take their electronics or recycle them for free, it is likely those materials are sent to international brokers and dumped rather than recycled.

It is estimated that up to 80% of the United States e-waste ends up being illegally shipped to developing countries and creating health and environmental disasters. By investing in the labor-intensive process of de-manufacturing and redirecting all materials collected back into the manufacturing stream, our partner keeps toxic materials out of landfills and ensures over 95% of the waste they handle is recycled.

At this point, elements captured through the de-manufacturing process (plastic, glass, wire) do not generate enough revenue to cover the labor cost for disassembly.

As much as 50-80% of US e-waste is exported to third world countries, where it is generally handled under conditions that are severely injurious to the local environment and public health.

70% of heavy metals in US landfills come from electronic equipment discards.

E-waste is now the largest source of lead in municipal solid waste landfills, comprising 40% of the total.

Many modern electronics contain mercury lamps. These lamps, if not properly disposed of, can leach mercury into our groundwater. Mercury lamps are found in laptops, scanners, copy machines and flat screen monitors and televisions.

In 2005, of the nearly 2 million pounds of e-waste that were disposed of in the United States less than 20% were recycled.