Turning green into green

A while back, I asked where your obsolete computers are now. I got some great answers — serious and silly — on ways to reuse and recycle computers.

But I know that for those of you who manage an armada of business computers, stashing old systems under the bed, selling them on Craigslist, carrying them to Goodwill, or refitting them for use by a local school is a major undertaking you may not have the resources to undertake. In that piece, I mentioned the Refurbished Computer Initiative (RCI). This partnership between TechSoup and Redemtech provides corporations with an easy way to donate old assets (complete with all regulatory compliance and tracking) while helping non-profits get computers they otherwise could not afford.

Converge (an asset management company) responded to that post by asking if I’d like to hear how its service solves this gripe — dealing with old computers responsibly — for one of its customers.

I like green solutions. So I thought I’d take a minute to listen. This solution is not nearly as altruistic as the Refurbished Computer Initiative. For one thing, Converge is a for-profit asset management company and RCI is a non-profit working to provide computers to non-profits who otherwise might not be able to afford them. But Converge’s solution does provide companies with a way to turn some of that corporate “green” impulse into green that spends. And in this economy, maybe that’s what you need. I like solutions that keep e-waste out of the landfill, so I thought I would share what Converge — and this customer — had to say.

Kevin L. Washington is senior manager of strategic planning at Tyco. His company was doing a computer refresh last year, and he had the task of disposing of the systems that were deemed obsolete. “Those old machines were taking up space and we had to find some way to get rid of them properly,” he explains. “We didn’t want to just throw them in a dumpster.” Not only did Washington want to dispose of the machines in a way that was environmentally responsible, there are regulations governing this that he was obliged to follow. Also, there is the problem of the data on those machines and all the usual concerns people have when disposing of old computers.

Washington knew that those old computers could provide real service somewhere, and he liked the idea of finding a way to reuse the ones that still had a bit of life in them. But with hundreds of machines to deal with, just scrubbing the data off them was a big expense. And not all of the systems he had to dispose of could be reused. So he started looking for an asset management company to help him deal with the entire mess: regulations, transportation, tracking of assets, reuse, and disposal of the machines. “With most of these outfits, you get a certificate of identification, of erasure, and a certificate of disposal,” says Washington. “That is pretty common.”

The consignment deal Converge offered got his attention, though. “Say we have 10 laptops,” he explains. “Converge will pick them up and go do whatever they do to sell them. Maybe they sell each one for $100. So they got $1,000. I get — minus the cost of pick up and cleaning — half of that revenue, which is nice. But since they get the other half, I feel like they have some skin in the game. Like maybe they will work harder at reselling these systems because they make money if they do.”

Washington has been using Converge since last March and is pleased with the arrangement. “We have made back about 10K to 15K on old assets.” And of course, the computers — even those in small satellite offices — are scrubbed, carried off (not by him), and reused or recycled responsibly.

Got other ideas for dealing with old assets? Bring them on.

Send your gripe (or ideas) to christina_tynan-wood@infoworld.com.