Recycle a Device

Recycle a Device laptop & tablets

Te Aro Zero Waste is a central city electronic device drop off point for RAD (Recycle a Device)

You can choose to donate your laptop or tablet (less than 10 years old, with a charger) to RAD who will diagnose issues, replace batteries, hard drives, screens and keyboards, before gifting to someone who needs it.

It’s all about bridging the digital divide. Find our more about our partnership with RAD here.

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Device donation acceptance guidelines

RAD accepts laptops that are less than 10 years old - although sometimes devices slightly outside of this
range may be ok - please let the RAD team know if you have laptops older than this that you think would
still be appropriate.

They accept MacBooks no older than 14 years of age - they have much better optimisation and
compatibility than Windows devices and generally older Apple products run just fine.
We do not accept Chromebooks.

They find that most Windows devices made after 2013/2014 can run perfectly fine with almost any
Operating System (OS). In fact, we like older devices because they are generally more modular, and
easier to repair and upgrade. Even if the specs of the device make it slower than most, it will run Flex OS
(formerly ChromeOS) or Linux very smoothly.

To find out the age of the device, you can identify the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) OS using
the stickers on the chassis or by Googling the model of the laptop. The model number can be found on
the underside of the laptop or below the battery.

RAD accepts Windows 8/8.1. These devices can run ChromeOS & Linux smoothly and may run
Windows 10 smoothly depending on specifications.

Why the Apple/Windows separation?
RAD choose to have these different criteria as older MacBooks are very cheap to repair and parts are
abundant for these models. 2010 MacBooks still run very smoothly from our experience.

Condition

RAD teaches students to diagnose and repair problems both big and small, so if devices are well loved that's
not a huge issue, although of course it helps if they are already in good condition!

RAD refurbishment classes teach students not only basic diagnosis and repair (from simple thermal paste
application to cleaning heatsinks) but also how to completely tear down a device and replace harddrives,
screens and keyboards.