Page 17 - EngineerIT June July 2025

SUSTAINABILITY

From laptop to legacy: what really

happens to your old tech

ou finally hand in that It all starts with secure intake. Each item Electronic recyclers are silent
old laptop through your is barcoded, assessed, and assigned champions, operating in the background
Ycompany’s e-waste drive, a a path: reuse, repair, or recycling. Next, and keeping pace while the working
school initiative, or maybe an ITAD certified data destruction – both digital world consumes tech at a rapid rate.
collection bin. But what happens and physical – ensures that no sensitive Trained specialists are equipped to
next? information survives, so your search handle hazardous materials with care
history, documents, and proprietary and integrity, and also build careers in a
Most imagine it gets dumped or material are not at risk. greener economy.
shipped away. Dedicated electronic
recyclers like Desco are standing by Devices that still hold value are Through youth-focused training
to take over from there, refurbished and sold into markets such programmes and inclusion efforts,
providing a detailed as education or low-income enterprises, organisations like Desco are cultivating
and transparent extending their useful life. Components a new workforce that doesn’t just see
journey of secure like RAM or screens are harvested for recycling as “dirty work” but as smart,
processing, reuse, repair jobs. When reuse isn’t viable, the meaningful, and impactful.
and responsible device is safely dismantled: plastics,
recycling for your metals, batteries, and cables are sorted So, remember, in an age where our
old tech. for specialised downstream processing. environment needs accelerated love
and care, your tech doesn’t have to
end up in a bin. With the right partners,
By Giulio Airaga, Managing Director of it becomes part of something bigger,
Desco Electronic Recyclers cleaner, safer, and brighter.

17 | EngineerIT June/July 2025