Ah, the start of a new year. Out with the old, in with the new. Easier said than done, especially if "the old" refers to old computers piling up around the office. What can you do about them?

Every day I walk past that heaping pile of electronics in the corner of my office and cringe. It used to be my desktop computer; now it’s an ad hoc table to stack piles of magazines on. It hasn’t been used in years, and probably never will be used again. One of these days I vow to haul it to a recycling center.

Companies with hundreds or thousands of computers can’t let the old ones pile up. For one thing, they are considered an environmental hazard because of the lead and mercury in the chassis. In some states, it’s illegal to store old computers without a license because of the hazards. Then, too, unless the hard disks have been removed or rendered unreadable, the old PCs present a data security issue. Would you want to be the one responsible for the CFO’s old PC being left in a dark storeroom where unauthorized people can access it?

If you can’t store them indefinitely, you have three other choices for disposition of old computers: redeploy them within the organization, discard them via a recycling service, or resell or donate them to someone else.

Redeployment is still a favorite tactic, especially in cash-strapped companies and nonprofit organizations (NPO). When someone on the top of the org chart gets a new computer, someone down below gets the hand-me-down. This tactic makes it possible to eek out an extra year or two of service from the device, although studies show the annual support costs go up in proportion to the age of the computer. The trickle down policy might not be much of a money saver.

Assuming there’s sufficient life left in the hand-me-downs, some companies prefer to resell them to recover a few dollars or get a little tax write-off by donating them to an NPO like the United Way. For example, the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast is delighted to accept corporate computer cast-offs. If donation is the way you want to go, I suggest contacting the United Way or other NPOs in your area. Or, Dell will take your gently used equipment donations for the National Christina Foundation, an NPO that serves people with disabilities, students at risk and economically disadvantaged persons.