Don’t landfill that old PC
Lee Grant is not overly impressed by Microsoft failing to provide an upgrade path
THERE’S ALWAYS a better option than automatically shoving an old PC into landfill. First, let’s look at the machine. A ten-year-old desktop PC may include a 4th gen Core i7, with 16GB of RAM and decent graphics. Even today, something like that will perform for everyday needs. It may need a cheap SSD upgrade to give it some pep, but that goes for 99 percent of machines with spinny drives.
If the machine is a decade-old Athlon 2, then running Windows 10 is probably hard work. However, adding copious amounts of RAM to an old machine is incredibly cheap, and switching from 4GB to 16GB will help even the slowest CPUs.
Fundamentally, this is a software issue. Windows 10 is much more sluggish than previous versions of the OS, so ditching Microsoft for a good, user-friendly software option—Ubuntu, Mint, ChromeOS Flex—breathes new life into old kit and keeps them out of landfill. As we move towards a browser-based existence, a quick OS and an up-to-date browser will satisfy the needs of many users.
Landfill should always be the last option. There will be parts inside a ten-year-old PC that others can make use of. The whole machine may be useful to someone who isn’t unalterably besotted with Windows, and is willing to explore alternatives that other platforms can offer.
If you decide that the machine no longer fits your needs, then give someone else a chance to use it. There are organizations all over the country who take in machines, refit them, and give them to people stuck in digital poverty. Via these organizations, the machines can also be sent to places where some genuine recycling will take place—and perhaps some rare-earth element extraction. In the US, landfill use is on the decline and most things now are exported or crushed and burned. The uncomfortable reality of sustainability is that we all need to buy less stuff, so keeping something in use is part of that deal.
Microsoft, by killing Windows 10 without an upgrade path for old hardware, is condemning millions of machines to a crusher. It can wave its green credentials all it likes—this is on its shoulders.