Asset Recovery - Recover Money

Asset Recovery (PC Recycling) is the process of removing and reselling old equipment from a business, government agency or education facility. An asset recovery company, such as the one I work for (www.exel-i.com), will purchase a large quantity of equipment at a discounted price, and eventually redistribute it to another company/organization. 

The reason behind this is simply because companies like upgrades.  When one company upgrades, they are left with a bunch of equipment which, to them, is out-of-date.  An asset recovery company will then buy that "out-of-date" merchandise, refurbish them (not all companies will do this), and sell it off to another company that would consider that merchandise as an upgrade.  It's the same idea as passing down clothes or toys from an older sibling to a younger one.  This is beneficial to the environment, to keep product moving, and technology growing.  This does not only help the growth of companies, but it helps keeping old computer equipment from being disposed of improperly.

Government Asset Recovery

The government is constantly getting new merchandise every year (most government agencies have a strict 3 year computer refresh policy) and are left with a great amount of excess material.  Many of their desktops and laptops have sensitive security information (SSI) which must be wiped before the computers can be redistributed.  Asset recovery companies are paid to remove these computer assets and do something called data wiping.  The hard drive is wiped approximately three times (with what is referred to as a DoD [Department of Defense] hard drive wiping process) to ensure that any data cannot be recovered.  Once this has been done, these computers are now compliant with government regulations and can now be redistributed.

Reasons Behind Asset Recovery

Asset Recovery companies should be trained to properly dispose of unusable merchandise that does not harm our environment.  This being so, the merchandise that cannot be resold and are completely defective, must be properly disposed of complying with all E.P.A (Environmental Protection Agency) guidelines. It is well documented that computer waste is detrimental to the environment and must be recycled appropriately.

Electronic waste takes 2% of America's trash in landfills; however, when you look at all the toxic waste we have, electronic waste is a whopping 70% of that.  By recycling our PC's through regulated asset recovery companies, it helps keep harmful parts that should not just be thrown out, it is imperative that these environmentally harmful parts be recycled properly.  Even if the part is no longer functioning, it can often be reused or parted out for other purposes and used to repair or rebuild other parts or units.  Electronic devices ranging from televisions, stereos, mobile phones, and computers contain many elements that can be reused - whether it be a capacitor on the motherboard, fans, or even lead, copper, and gold.  In addition, they may also contain many toxins (dioxins, PCBs, cadmium, chromium, mercury, radioactive materials) that are harmful to our environment and ourselves if improperly disposed of or recycled.

Business Perspective

Besides the environmental benefits to asset recovery, there is a financial benefit as well.  Companies who have recently upgraded their equipment and are left with their old electronic equipment may not understand what  options are available to them.  This is where asset recovery companies come in.  These services can work in a variety of ways but ultimately, the companies selling off their used equipment get paid a standard rate in accordance to what they give.  For instance, if they have 200 desktops, the asset recovery company may say they will offer $100 per desktop received.  On the other hand if your old equipment is non functioning or very antiquated, most asset recovery companies will have to charge for disposal of unusable equipment. In my experience the vast majority of asset recovery programs have some sort of a combination of good resell-able equipment and unusable equipment therefore leaving them with a significant value recovered.

Shipping a large quantity of equipment to an asset recovery company can also be the most expensive part of any asset recovery program.  With gas prices constantly increasing, shipping prices are increasing as well.  Asset recovery companies will usually handle this part - getting that equipment prepared for shipping, logistics involved in transportation and receiving. Therefore allowing the business to focus on other things directly affecting their business in lieu of concerning themselves about properly disposing of their old equipment.

PC Investment

Many companies look at their three year old computers and just assume they are worth nothing.  That is definitely not true.  Even if the computer is five years old, it still holds some value.  If the computer itself is worthless, the parts within it are definitely worth something.  Asset recovery companies recognize that fact and help businesses realize valuation of this old equipment.  All that is required is that the prospective business do a little searching and networking for a reputable asset recovery company that will help rid them of that old equipment and offer a good return value.  By selling their used equipment, it offers an opportunity for them to get funds to contribute to their future computer or equipment upgrades.