Trash

• You can simply carry your computer to the nearest dumpster or put it at the curb for garbage collection. However, doing so puts our environment at risk. A computer contains precious metals that can seep out of the unit into a landfill, and subsequently into ground water. According to Recycleit.com ,these poisonous metals include lead, selenium, cobalt and mercury.
  
  

Recycling

• You can also recycle your old computer. You can disconnect the main parts of the unit--the mouse, the speakers, the keyboard and the tower--and take them to a local recycling facility. Another option would be to participate in one of the recycling programs that computer manufacturers run. Companies such as Apple, Dell, Gateway, Lexmark, NEC and IBM/Lonovo all have such programs.
  
  

Resale

• You can recoup some of your investment by selling your old computer at a garage sale, online store or through classified ads.Before selling it, prepare to answer questions about the computer's speed, memory and motherboard. You should also know how to adequately price it so that it's likely to sell. Taking it to an appraiser can help, as well as reading the classifieds, observing the prices of similar models and setting your prices accordingly.
  
  

Donation

• You may choose to donate your computer to charity, or to a friend in need of one. Churches, schools and other nonprofit organizations simply may not be able to afford a new computer. Since a computer is vital to the services these institutions perform, they may welcome such a gift. However, this option only works if the computer is fairly new, because the organization wanting the computer may wish for features the donor's older computer may not have.