Help us to bridge the digital divide and empower the youth of Appalachia to compete in the 21th century.

You can help us do this and keep computers out of landfills by giving them new life and connecting the underserved youth to skills and opportunities. We teach computer maintenance and repair skills to people who complete our computer skills program and provide refurbished computers to non-profit organizations all over Appalachia.
If your computer is less than 5 years old and in working condition, chances are someone else can use it. If, however, it is older than 5 years, broken, you should recycle it instead.

REUSE
The best use is reuse. We make every effort to repair and reuse donated computer items. Our first priority is to provide computer equipment to nonprofit organizations in underserved communities in Appalachian.

RECYCLE
Non-functioning computers and scrap are recycled responsibly. We disassembled computers and their metals are taken to a local recycler.

The real cost of in-house PC retirement
When a company tries to conduct its own equipment retirement program, costs often exceed $400 a computer. IT professionals often find themselves wasting valuable time trying to properly discard of obsolete computer hardware. According to a recent report by Gartner Research, in-house disposal “presents unique challenges and potential costs that enterprises seldom consider.” By some estimates, when a company tries to manage its own in-house retirement, the costs can exceed $400 per computer! Why so much?
Consider these hidden costs:
Basic in-house disposal management costs
• Administrative tasks (inventory, forms, accounting, etc.)
• Backing up and sanitizing hard drives
• Storage costs until computers are removed
• Packing and shipping
• Disposal fee
• Opportunity costs (i.e., Could this time be used more profitably?)

Optional in-house employee sale costs

• Hosting sale (pricing, setting up sales area, asking questions, etc.)
• Finding charitable organizations that will accept your PCs
• Reloading operating systems
• Testing PCs
• Processing payments
• Technical support
• Preparing transfer documents

That’s not all. If you’re planning on offsetting those costs by reselling your equipment, you’d better do it soon. It’s estimated that stored IT equipment loses 6% to 10% of its value each month.

Appalachian Sharing Network offers the following services:

Risk Management Disposal
Improper disposal of computer equipment can expose a company to various risks. We properly retire computer hardware and takes special steps in the areas of security, legal compliance and accountability. We will:
• Pick up equipment directly from your loading dock.
• Thoroughly erase all data from hard disks. This protects against software licensing infringement and loss of sensitive information.
• Dispose of equipment (if necessary) according to state and federal environmental laws.
• Provide a certified report detailing the services performed and confirming software removal (listed by hardware serial number).

Clearing Data Yourself
If you decide to clean your computer yourself, you can pur¬chase software via the following commercial sites, or obtain them for free at shareware sites:
Commercial Windows Disk Cleaning Software
• Blancco Data Cleaner www.blancco.com
• WipeDrive www.accessdata.com/products/wipe
• CyberCide Data Destruction www.cyberscrub.com/products/cybercide/index.php

Keep the Operating System Intact

If you are donating hardware with a pre-installed Microsoft operating system, pass on the operating system software. Microsoft licensing agreements require that the software stay with the original machine in which it was installed.
Include Accessories and Original Documentation
Remember to include the keyboard, mouse, speakers, and other ancillary equipment. If possible, also include the origi¬nal documentation that came with the equipment and proof of license.