The case for reuse

Why second-user IT?

A refurbished business laptop or PC is cheaper than new, often better built than a new budget machine, and it keeps the carbon and materials already spent making it in use. Here's the evidence.

Updated October 2026 · Sources listed at the end

1. Most of a computer's footprint is made before you switch it on

Manufacturers' own life cycle assessments show how much of a computer's lifetime carbon footprint comes from making it, all assuming four years of use:

ProductLifetime footprintShare from manufacturing
Dell Latitude 5450 laptop111 kg CO₂e73%
Apple MacBook Air 15" (M5)145 kg CO₂e62%
Dell OptiPlex SFF 7020 desktop160 kg CO₂e50%

Every year a working machine stays in use spreads that manufacturing footprint over more years of work, and avoids the footprint of building its replacement.

2. Reuse measurably cuts the impact

  • A peer-reviewed life cycle study of a commercial laptop reuse business (André et al., Waste Management, 2019) found the environmental impacts per year of use were 39% to 50% lower for second-hand laptops than for new ones, and the reuse activities themselves had a negligible impact.
  • The European Environmental Bureau estimated that keeping every notebook in the EU in use for just one extra year would save about 1.6 million tonnes of CO₂ a year by 2030, which it likens to taking 870,000 cars off the road.
  • The Öko-Institut found that even a new notebook 10% more energy-efficient than the old one only makes up for its production impact after several decades.

3. E-waste is growing faster than recycling

  • The world generated 62 million tonnes of e-waste in 2022, and only 22.3% was documented as properly collected and recycled (Global E-waste Monitor 2024).
  • E-waste is on track to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030, and it's rising five times faster than documented recycling.
  • The UK generated about 24 kg of e-waste per person in 2022, the second-highest figure in Europe after Norway, against a European average of 17.6 kg.
  • Only 22% of small IT and telecoms equipment was documented as collected and recycled. The report suggests people hold on to devices because they contain personal data. Certified data wiping addresses that concern.

Reuse comes before recycling. Recycling recovers some materials, but it loses all the energy and manufacturing that went into a working computer. The UK's waste duty of care asks businesses to do everything they reasonably can to prevent, reuse, recycle or recover waste, and government WEEE guidance says reuse of whole appliances should be prioritised.

4. Business-grade kit is built to last

Ex-corporate laptops and desktops (ThinkPad, Latitude, EliteBook, OptiPlex, ThinkCentre, ProDesk) were designed for years of daily office use and easy servicing by IT departments. Spare parts, batteries and memory upgrades are widely available. Many leave their first owner on a planned refresh cycle, not because they've stopped working.

5. It costs less

A refurbished business machine usually costs much less than it did new, and often less than a new entry-level laptop with a slower processor and weaker build. For schools, charities, small businesses and families, that difference buys more machines, more memory or a bigger SSD.

Where to go next

Common questions

Isn't a new, more efficient laptop greener?

Rarely, over any sensible timescale. Because most of a laptop's footprint comes from manufacturing, the electricity saved by a more efficient new model takes a very long time to pay back. The Öko-Institut found a new notebook 10% more efficient than the old one only makes up for its production impact after several decades.

Doesn't refurbishment itself use energy?

A little, but far less than making a new machine. A peer-reviewed study of a commercial laptop reuse business found the reuse activities (collection, data wiping, testing, refurbishment) had a negligible impact compared with the benefit of extending the laptop's life.

Sources