Recycling/Disposing of Computer Equipment and Cellular Devices

Policy Information
Policy TitleRecycling/Disposing of Computer Equipment and Cellular Devices
Responsible OfficeOffice of the Chief Information Officer (ITS)
Policy TypeInformation Technology
Policy Number302
Last Revision Date2/22/2024

When an office or department needs to recycle or transfer University owned electronic equipment, it must be delivered to Information Technology Services (ITS) at the Technology Hub Room G01. ITS Operations (operations@binghamton.edu) must be notified of the need for electronic equipment to be recycled.They will coordinate with the originating department to deliver the equipment to the Technology Hub, or will recommend that a service request be submitted with Facilities Management requesting expeditors to pick up and deliver. Do not leave computer equipment unattended or in hallways during transfer. Non-University and personally owned items shall not be brought to Information Technology Services for recycling.

  • If the computer equipment is being redeployed by ITS to a campus department, the equipment will be re-initialized using the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) methods, reloaded with University licensed operating system and programs, and then distributed to another user on campus and a Form A completed to designate the new location of the equipment.
  • If the equipment is being surplused, traded, sold or scrapped, any storage media, whether standalone (ex: disks, SD cards, CDs) or contained within equipment (ex: computers, copiers) will be destroyed by the recycler. Documentation of destruction is returned by the recycler. Shredding of all storage media ensures there is no way any information can be recovered from the media. For example, tablets do not
    have a hard drive but will be appropriately destroyed as well.
  • University Issued/Purchased Cell Phones — If a department purchases a cell phone for an employee (either from Telecommunications or directly from a cellular provider) and the employee either upgrades the phone, leaves the University, or will no longer be using the phone, the old phone may 1) be redeployed to another employee in the department or 2) be deactivated and held by the department head to serve as a backup for a lost or broken phone. If the department cannot identify a business need for the old cell phone, the device must be returned to Telecommunications, who will ensure that the phone is properly sanitized to delete and erase all information and then disposed of in an appropriate manner. Departments and/or individual employees do not have the authority to donate, recycle, or sell state issued cell phones.

A Property Control Form A must be completed when surplusing or transferring any equipment. Be sure to print a copy of the form and attach it to the equipment.