In 2022, the world generated a record 62 billion kilograms of electronic and electrical waste—much of it from industrial machinery, manufacturing lines, and IT equipment—yet only 22.3% was formally collected and recycled. This gap highlights the urgency of responsible equipment disposal for industrial and commercial organizations.
Disposing of old equipment, especially manufacturing machinery and electronics, can be a daunting task. Beyond simply getting rid of surplus, your approach to used equipment disposal directly impacts operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and sustainability goals. By proactively managing surplus assets, you can recover value, free up space, and minimize risk.
This guide will help you navigate the complexities of disposing of old electronic equipment, including where to dispose of it and how to decide whether to scrap, recycle, or resell.
By the end of this article, you'll have a clear understanding of the best practices for responsible disposal.
Why Disposing of Old Equipment Matters
Proper disposal of old equipment is essential to protect the environment and comply with legal requirements. Incorrect disposal can lead to hazardous materials seeping into the ground and water, causing significant environmental damage.
For many organizations, responsible equipment disposal is also central to meeting internal sustainability targets and demonstrating good corporate citizenship to stakeholders.
Additionally, selling industrial equipment and selling electrical surplus is a good way to improve balance sheets and return money to supply chains striving for efficiency and low carrying costs.
Many businesses also realize tax incentives and an enhanced reputation by managing surplus and obsolete assets proactively.
Environmental Impact
Electronic waste, or e-waste, contains toxic substances like lead, mercury, and cadmium, which can pollute the environment if not disposed of properly. Recycling and proper disposal prevent these toxins from entering landfills and ecosystems.
Electronic waste is a significant contributor to environmental pollution, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimating that about 70% of toxic heavy metals in landfills come from discarded electronics. Despite California's ban on disposing of electronics in regular trash, the state still discards approximately 500,000 tons of e-waste each year.
Legal Considerations
Many countries have strict regulations on the disposal of electronic waste. Failure to comply can result in hefty fines and legal repercussions. It's crucial to understand and follow local laws when disposing of old equipment.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regularly updates the statutory maximum civil penalties for violations related to hazardous and electronic waste disposal. As of 2025, fines for non-compliance under statutes like the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) can exceed $124,000 per violation.
Financial Burden & Benefit
Manufacturing plant managers are held to KPIs that center on efficient productivity, such as capacity utilization and production downtime. Meanwhile, others in the supply chain see their bonus targets affected by their ability to run lean processes with minimal excess stock.
Unplanned downtime alone costs industrial businesses an average of $125,000 per hour, according to an ABB survey. Efficient and timely disposal of surplus and old equipment through industrial liquidators and other industrial equipment buyers can help improve your KPIs and return money to the organization simultaneously.
Types of Old Equipment
1. Industrial Machinery
Disposing of old and surplus industrial machinery presents unique challenges due to its size and complexity. These machines often contain valuable metals and hazardous substances that must be handled appropriately.
2. IT Equipment
IT equipment encompasses a wide range of devices used in information technology, including servers, networking hardware, data storage devices, and computer peripherals. Proper disposal of IT equipment is crucial due to the sensitive data they often contain and the potential environmental hazards from materials like lead and mercury. Ensuring secure data destruction and utilizing certified e-waste recyclers can help mitigate these risks while promoting sustainability.
3. Consumer Electronics
Common types of old electronic equipment include computers, smartphones, tablets, printers, and televisions. These devices often contain hazardous materials that require special handling.
4. Office Equipment
Office equipment such as copiers, fax machines, and telecommunication devices also needs proper disposal methods to ensure they do not harm the environment.
Best Practices for Efficient Equipment Disposal
1. Recycling Old Equipment
Benefits of Recycling
Recycling old equipment conserves natural resources, reduces pollution, and helps manage hazardous substances responsibly. It usually will see equipment or electronics broken down into its component parts, with the valuable reusable components going back into production, and others being destroyed.
Finding Certified Recyclers
Ensure your electronics are recycled properly by finding certified recyclers through organizations like e-Stewards or R2 (Responsible Recycling).
Steps to Recycle Electronics
1. Locate a certified recycler.
2. Prepare your electronics by removing personal data.
3. Drop off or schedule a pickup with the recycler.
4. Ensure you receive a certificate of recycling.
Look Into Federal and State Tax Incentives for Recycling
Many governments provide tax incentives for businesses that recycle. These incentives can come in the form of tax credits or deductions for expenses related to recycling activities – check your state laws in particular for benefits recycling can bring to your tax burden. No need to wait to recycle for this; just get a certificate of recycling when you do it as proof.
2. Scraping Old Equipment
When to Consider Scrapping
Scrapping is an option when equipment is no longer functional or repairable. It involves dismantling devices to recover valuable materials like metals and plastics. In particular, scrappers will target valuable metals such as copper when scrapping your old equipment.
Old equipment that is no longer functional or refurbishable usually needs to be scrapped. In addition, many spare parts managed by MRO organizations are most suitable for scrapping. Unfortunately, the cost to transport them or recycle them is greater than their eventual resale value, so the economics push them towards safe destruction.
How to Scrap?
Scrapping should be done by a local service – the easier the logistics, the better. It rarely makes financial sense to freight scrap over large distances, so the less you can think about scrapping and the less you can pay for it, the better. Get a trusted local partner and hand off everything to them.
3. Reselling Old Equipment
When to Consider Reselling
Reselling is most effective when your equipment is in good working order, has market demand, or is supported by manufacturers. Equipment disposal through resale lets you recover value and extend the useful life of durable goods.
How to Maximize Value from Resale
To achieve the best returns, accurately catalog and photograph each item, include service histories, and partner with reputable industrial equipment resellers or auction platforms. Detailed records can increase buyer trust and drive higher prices for used equipment disposal.
Best Platforms and Partners for Resale
Look for industrial auction sites, surplus MRO removal services, and specialized equipment brokers that focus on your asset class. Online marketplaces and local resellers can also help move surplus stock quickly.
4. Repurposing Old Equipment
When to Repurpose Equipment
Repurposing old equipment works best when assets can be safely adapted for alternative uses within your organization. For example, reassigning obsolete IT hardware to non-critical tasks or converting industrial machinery for different production lines.
Steps to Repurpose Successfully
1. Conduct an equipment appraisal.
2. Verify the safety, compliance, and cost-effectiveness of repurposing.
3. Document modifications and new use cases.
5. Vendor Take-Back or Trade-In Programs
When to Use Vendor Programs
Vendor take-back or trade-in programs are ideal when upgrading to new models or disposing of complex assets like old IT equipment or heavy machinery. Many original equipment manufacturers offer these programs to streamline the equipment disposal procedure.
How These Programs Work
Many original equipment manufacturers and major suppliers offer these programs for old industrial equipment, machinery, and IT assets. Vendor take-back simplifies the equipment disposal procedure by allowing you to return used or obsolete equipment directly to the supplier, often for credit toward future purchases or cash incentives.
How to Dispose of Old Electronic Equipment?
1. Identifying Electronic Waste
Before disposing of electronic equipment, identify whether it qualifies as e-waste. This includes any device with a battery or plug that is no longer functional or needed. These items are subject to stricter regulations and have to be handled more carefully.
2. Preparing Electronics for Disposal
Before disposing of electronics, remove any personal data and hazardous materials like batteries. This preparation step is crucial for both environmental safety and personal security.
Alternatively, you can rely on a certified partner to handle the challenge of disposing of electronics with personal data. You want to look for a company with R2 certification for recycling, and a certification like NAID for data destruction.
R2 stands for Responsible Recycling and is a standard specifically created for the electronics recycling industry by Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI). NAID is the National Association of Information Destruction, and they certify their members in wiping personal data.
You can trust a partner with a combination of these certifications to ensure that your organization doesn’t expose sensitive information to the public and to ensure that your electronics are responsibly recycled.
3. Documenting Assets and Chain of Custody
Maintain a detailed record of all disposed electronic equipment, including asset tags, serial numbers, and condition reports. Documentation of the chain of custody ensures traceability and is essential for compliance audits.
4. Selecting a Certified Electronics Recycler
Choose a certified electronics recycling partner (with R2 or e-Stewards certification) that meets industry standards for environmental and data security compliance. Vet recyclers for their track record, insurance, and downstream accountability.
5. Securing Certificates of Data Destruction and Recycling
Obtain certificates of data destruction (from NAID-certified providers) and recycling for each batch of disposed electronics. These documents provide proof of regulatory compliance and environmental stewardship.
6. Final Audit and Reporting
Conduct a final review and internal audit of the disposal process to ensure that all electronic waste was handled according to policy and regulatory standards. Archive certificates and records as part of your company’s compliance files.
How To Simplify Equipment Disposal Decisions
The first step for enterprises looking to dispose of old equipment and surplus assets is understanding what they should dispose of in the first place, and how.
Generally speaking, you should sell that which has significant value, recycle what can be recycled, and scrap the rest. Sounds straightforward, but knowing what falls into which category is the tricky part.
How Amplio Makes Equipment Disposal Easy
Amplio solves the guessing game for enterprises with its intelligent surplus analysis software. With any list of surplus, excess, and old equipment, we can seamlessly run intelligence to recommend the best way to dispose of each part of the list.
That way, our clients can immediately scrap a large chunk of what’s gumming up their warehouse space, and then take more time to sell the valuable excess through us.
Our approach makes it easy for our clients to make space in warehouses and manufacturing plants while also getting a great return on their old equipment.
FAQs
How do I dispose of old electronic equipment?
To dispose of old electronic equipment, identify local disposal regulations and take advantage of government programs, retailer take-back services, or e-waste collection centers.
Where can I find a place to dispose of my old electronics?
You can find disposal locations through local government programs, retailer take-back services, and dedicated e-waste collection centers.
What is the best way to recycle old equipment?
The best way to recycle old equipment is to use certified recyclers. Prepare your electronics by removing personal data and hazardous materials before recycling.
Is it better to scrap or resell my old devices?
The choice between scrapping and reselling depends on the condition and value of the device. Resell functional devices and scrap those that are no longer repairable.
What should I do with old industrial machinery?
For old industrial machinery, hire specialized disposal services that comply with local regulations and handle hazardous materials safely.
How can I ensure my data is secure before disposal?
Ensure data security by using data destruction software or physically destroying storage media before disposing of electronic equipment.
