Office move: what to do with your old IT equipment?
When you move offices, the IT equipment that is not coming with you should be sorted, wiped and handed over to a WEEE channel, not left with the bulky waste. Much of it can be sold: on 15/11/2026, at the basic public rate, a complete computer is bought at €0.50/kg, a complete server at €0.70/kg and a complete laptop without battery at €1.05/kg.
What should you keep, sell or recycle?
A move is the right time to take stock of your equipment. There are three possible destinations:
- Keep what is recent, working and useful in the new premises.
- Sell what still works but is no longer needed: replaced workstations, servers made redundant by a migration, stocks of spare parts.
- Recycle what is beyond use: the equipment then goes to material recycling, with a value per kilo.
At RECYNEW, the last two categories are handled together. Working components (processors, memory, tested drives) go back into reuse, the best way to recover value; the rest goes to material recycling through approved channels, including smelters for the precious metals in circuit boards.
Reuse is still a small share nationally. According to ADEME ("Electrical and electronic equipment: 2024 data", published in 2026), 2.3 million tonnes of equipment were placed on the French market in 2024, more than 1.2 million tonnes were collected and 45,017 tonnes were reused. An office fleet sorted before the move stands a good chance of feeding that reuse.
How much is an office's old equipment worth?
Some benchmarks on 15/11/2026, at the basic public rate (private-individual group, per-kilo tier):
| Equipment | Buyback price on 15/11/2026 |
|---|---|
| Complete laptop without battery | €1.05/kg |
| Complete laptop with battery | €0.98/kg |
| Professional router | €0.75/kg |
| Complete server | €0.70/kg |
| Complete computer | €0.50/kg |
| Thin-client computer | €0.35/kg |
| Laptop docking station | €0.30/kg |
| External power supply with cable | €0.26/kg |
| PC memory module DDR4 8 GB | €3.25/unit |
| 2.5" SSD 512 GB | €11.50/unit |
| Intel Core i5 10th-generation processor | €20.00/unit |
These prices rise with your profile (business, recycler — free account) and with quantity (pallet, full lorry). The firm price is confirmed after receipt, weighing and inspection. Details are in the complete IT equipment price list and on our buyback prices page.
A worked example: 40 complete desktop PCs weighing 8 kg each come to 320 kg, i.e. €160.00 at the basic rate of €0.50/kg. If those PCs are recent, their components may be worth more by the unit: 40 DDR4 8 GB memory modules alone represent €130.00. The inspection decides between the per-kilo and per-unit price.
Monitors, printers and desk phones are not in our public price lists: list them in your request to find out how they can be handled. Office furniture is not WEEE and goes through a different channel.
Can you leave the equipment with the bulky waste or the removal company?
No, not without knowing where it goes. Used IT equipment is waste electrical and electronic equipment. Article L541-2 of the French Environment Code makes every producer or holder of waste responsible for its management "until its final disposal or recovery", including when it is transferred to a third party. Handing the PCs to the removal firm does not discharge you.
Who pays for treatment depends on the age of the equipment. Under Article R543-195 of the Environment Code, collection and treatment of professional equipment placed on the market after 13 August 2005 are the producer's responsibility; for older equipment, they fall to the user, unless it is replaced with equivalent equipment. For equipment that still has value, selling it to a treatment centre settles the matter: you get paid instead of paying.
Ask for proof of collection. RECYNEW provides it to businesses that need it for their WEEE obligations: mention it in your request.
What should you do with the data before the PCs leave?
Wipe it, or have it wiped, before the equipment leaves your premises. Your company remains responsible for the security of the personal data it processes (Article 32 of the GDPR). The CNIL's personal data security guide (2024 edition, sheet 15) recommends erasing the data on any equipment before it is discarded. A move multiplies the risks: open boxes, equipment left in a corridor, outside contractors.
Think of every storage medium, not just PCs: servers, NAS units, external drives, copiers fitted with a hard drive, USB sticks forgotten in drawers. At RECYNEW, reusable media are securely wiped and those that are not reusable are physically destroyed; an erasure certificate can be provided on request. See also our page on business hard drive buyback with data wiping.
How should you organise the removal of equipment before the move?
- Take an inventory as soon as the date is known: type, model, quantity, condition, and configuration for recent PCs.
- Decide the destination of each batch: keep, sell, recycle.
- Back up, then wipe the data on the media that are leaving.
- Request a quote based on an inventory or photos: RECYNEW replies within 48 working hours.
- Group and protect the outgoing equipment, separately from what is moving: an intact component is worth more than a broken one.
- Schedule the collection before moving day. For a pallet or a lorry, it can be arranged and factored into the offer. Create your buyback request, stating your needs (erasure certificate, proof of collection).
- File the documents: detailed purchase note, proof of collection, erasure certificate.
After receipt and weighing, you receive a detailed purchase note to approve online; nothing is committed before you agree, and payment is made by bank transfer.
Why deal with the equipment before the move rather than after?
For three practical reasons. You do not pay to transport equipment that will no longer be used. You avoid it sitting in a storeroom for months, losing value as the components age. And you keep control of the data, instead of finding a box of unwiped drives in the new offices.
In short
- Sort your equipment before the move: keep, sell, recycle.
- On 15/11/2026, at the basic rate: complete computer €0.50/kg, complete server €0.70/kg, complete laptop without battery €1.05/kg.
- The holder remains responsible for its WEEE until final recovery (Article L541-2 of the French Environment Code): no bulky waste.
- Wipe the data on every storage medium before it leaves (Article 32 of the GDPR, CNIL sheet 15).
- Request a quote within 48 working hours and schedule the collection before moving day.