How to Responsibly Recycle Old Computers and Printers: Without Paying a Dime

Outdated tech doesn’t just clutter your office, it can expose your business to unnecessary risk. Whether it’s an old desktop tucked in a closet or a stack of unused printers from your last upgrade, improper disposal of electronic equipment can lead to data leaks, environmental harm, and even regulatory headaches.

Fortunately, responsible recycling options are more accessible than ever, and in many cases, completely free.

This guide walks you through how to recycle your old tech the right way, protect your data, and even align your business with sustainable practices.

How to Responsibly recycle old computers and printers: For FREE A guide on responsible tech disposal.

Never Just Throw Away Old Tech

Every computer or printer that’s tossed into the trash could:

  • Leak data if hard drives aren’t properly wiped
  • Pollute local landfills with heavy metals and plastics
  • Violate regulations if your business handles sensitive or regulated data

For small businesses, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations, old IT equipment can create long-term liability. That’s why SofTouch Systems urges all clients to treat tech disposal as a serious IT policy decision, not just an office cleanup task.

Step 1: Back Up and Wipe All Devices

Before you recycle, back up important files and then perform a secure data wipe.

  • For Windows PCs: Use built-in “Reset This PC” and select “Remove Everything” → “Clean the Drive.”
  • For Macs: Use Disk Utility in Recovery Mode to erase drives securely.
  • For printers with storage: Check the manufacturer’s reset instructions to remove stored documents or contact lists.

SofTouch Systems can assist with secure device wiping, ensuring your business is protected from data leaks even after devices leave your hands.

Step 2: Use Manufacturer Take-Back Programs

Many major tech companies offer free recycling programs for old computers and peripherals, even if you’re not buying a new one.

  • Dell Reconnect: In partnership with Goodwill, Dell accepts any brand of computer equipment.
  • HP Planet Partners: Accepts HP-brand hardware and printing supplies.
  • Apple Trade-In: Recycles old Apple devices (or gives credit if eligible).

These programs often include free shipping labels or drop-off instructions.

Step 3: Check With Local Retailers

Several major retailers offer no-cost recycling drop-offs, especially for common business hardware:

  • Best Buy: Accepts laptops, printers, cables, and more — often up to three items per household/business per day.
  • Staples: Recycles tech for businesses and also provides data destruction services.

Tip: Call ahead to confirm which items they accept and whether any appointment is needed.

Step 4: Partner With Certified E-Waste Recyclers

If you’re disposing of a large quantity of equipment, it may be better to work with a R2- or e-Stewards-certified e-waste recycler. These certifications ensure proper handling and recycling practices.

Search here:

SofTouch Systems partners with certified recyclers and can coordinate pickup or drop-off as part of our managed IT support.

Step 5: Include Recycling in Your IT Lifecycle Policy

Recycling should be part of your business’s IT asset lifecycle management:

  • When onboarding new equipment, flag older items for future disposal
  • Maintain a log of decommissioned assets
  • Schedule annual or semi-annual recycling events for staff or clients

STS clients benefit from scheduled tech audits, which include guidance on what to retire, replace, or securely destroy.

A Final Word from SofTouch Systems

Recycling isn’t just a good deed, it’s a smart IT decision. With cyber threats on the rise and environmental responsibility becoming a community expectation, how you dispose of technology matters.

Need help managing your aging equipment or creating an official asset retirement policy? SofTouch Systems offers free IT evaluations for small businesses and local agencies across Central and South Texas.

Let’s secure your data, reduce your risk, and make space for smarter tech, the responsible way.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Strong Municipal IT Incident Response Plan

In today’s digital landscape, city governments rely on technology to power everything from utility billing to emergency communications. But with this dependency comes a growing threat: cyberattacks targeting small and midsize municipalities.

From ransomware lockouts to phishing scams and data breaches, attacks on city systems can cause serious operational, financial, and reputational damage. That’s why having a municipal IT incident response plan is no longer optional, it’s essential.

Step-By-Step Guide to Creating a Strong: Municipal IT Incident Response Plan with SofTouch Systems.

This guide walks through how your city can build a practical, actionable response plan tailored to the public sector. Whether you’re a city administrator, IT director, or elected official, these steps will help you prepare for worst-case scenarios and bounce back quickly.

Why Municipal IT Incident Response Planning Matters

Local governments are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals because of:

  • Aging infrastructure
  • Limited IT staffing
  • Inconsistent security protocols
  • High-value personal and financial data

A municipal IT incident response plan outlines how your team will detect, contain, and recover from cybersecurity events. Without one, cities risk longer downtime, legal liabilities, and irreversible data loss.

Most importantly, an incident response plan protects community trust, a resource far more valuable than any software license.

Step 1: Assemble the Right Incident Response Team

Before an incident occurs, assign clear roles and responsibilities. This core team should include:

  • Incident Response Coordinator – often the IT manager or department head
  • Communications Lead – someone who will manage public and internal messaging
  • Legal Advisor – ensures compliance with notification laws and risk mitigation
  • Department Liaisons – contacts for each city department (police, utilities, finance, etc.)
  • Outside Support Partners – MSPs like SofTouch Systems, law enforcement contacts, or state-level cybersecurity offices

The goal: everyone knows who to call, what their role is, and how to respond without delay.

Step 2: Define What makes a Security Incident

Not all IT issues are security incidents. Define clear thresholds and examples of what triggers the plan:

  • Unauthorized access attempts
  • Loss or theft of devices containing sensitive data
  • Malware or ransomware infections
  • Phishing emails that resulted in credential compromise
  • Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks against city websites or services

Documenting these scenarios ensures your team reacts consistently and appropriately, every time.

Step 3: Establish an Incident Response Lifecycle

Every municipal IT incident response plan should follow a lifecycle framework. The industry-standard NIST model includes:

1. Preparation

  • Security training
  • Software updates and patching
  • Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
  • Network segmentation

2. Detection & Analysis

  • Monitor logs and endpoints
  • Use intrusion detection systems (IDS)
  • Triage the severity of the event

3. Containment

  • Quarantine affected machines
  • Reset compromised credentials
  • Disable affected accounts or systems

4. Eradication

  • Remove malware or unauthorized access
  • Patch exploited vulnerabilities

5. Recovery

  • Restore systems from backups
  • Monitor for recurring activity
  • Resume normal operations

6. Lessons Learned

  • Conduct a post-mortem
  • Revise the response plan based on findings
  • Report the incident to oversight bodies if required

Step 4: Create a Communications Strategy

A well-executed communications plan helps maintain trust during and after an incident. It should address:

  • Internal Notifications – Which departments are informed and how quickly
  • External Notifications – What the public, media, and vendors should be told
  • Legal Notifications – State or federal breach notification requirements (Texas has specific laws on this)

Keep prepared templates for email statements, press releases, and social media updates. Speed and accuracy matter, delays can cause confusion and erode public confidence.

Step 5: Test the Plan Annually

An untested plan is just paper. Schedule at least one tabletop exercise each year simulating a realistic attack. This practice:

  • Reveals workflow gaps
  • Helps staff internalize procedures
  • Builds confidence in your team’s readiness
  • Identifies technical vulnerabilities or outdated contact info

Include elected officials and department heads in the drills, cybersecurity isn’t just an IT problem.

Step 6: Partner with a Trusted Cybersecurity Firm

Even well-resourced cities benefit from outside expertise. A vetted MSP like SofTouch Systems can:

  • Perform security risk assessments
  • Help write or revise your incident response plan
  • Provide 24/7 monitoring and alerting
  • Step in immediately during a crisis
  • Help you meet compliance and reporting obligations

SofTouch Systems specializes in serving Central and South Texas municipalities. We understand the unique constraints you face, budgetary, regulatory, and political, and we’re here to make digital security manageable, not overwhelming.

Final Thought: Proactive Planning Is Cheaper Than Crisis Management

No city is immune to cyber threats, but every city can be prepared. By creating a comprehensive municipal IT incident response plan, you protect your community’s data, operations, and reputation.

Now is the time to act, before you need to. Contact us HERE for your free IT consultation.
Resources provided by the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center (MS-ISAC)

Municipal Cybersecurity: How to Protect Your City’s Infrastructure from Modern Threats

As technology weaves itself into every facet of city operations, from utility billing to law enforcement databases, one truth becomes increasingly clear: municipal cybersecurity is no longer optional.

Small and midsize cities across the United States, particularly those in Central and South Texas, face growing cyber risks. Yet many local governments still operate under the false assumption that only large urban centers are targeted. The reality is stark: hackers often prefer smaller municipalities because they assume these systems are underfunded, outdated, and easier to breach.

Municipal Cybersecurity: How to protect your city's infrastructure from modern threats with SofTouch Systems.

If your city leadership, IT staff, or department heads haven’t conducted a full security assessment in the last 12 months, your infrastructure is likely more vulnerable than you think.

Why Cybercriminals Target Municipalities

Municipalities are attractive targets for several reasons:

  • Valuable, sensitive data: Personnel files, social security numbers, law enforcement records, zoning maps, and vendor payment information — all are desirable on the black market.
  • Legacy infrastructure: Outdated operating systems, unpatched software, and decentralized controls are common in local government environments.
  • Understaffed IT departments: Many cities run their technology operations with one or two generalists, leaving significant gaps in cybersecurity posture.
  • Lack of training: Public employees rarely receive formal training on phishing, data protection, or secure communications.

When these vulnerabilities align, even a single compromised email account can open the door to ransomware attacks, data theft, and multi-day operational outages.

Real Threats in Real Places

Municipal cybersecurity failures are no longer abstract. In the last three years:

  • A small Texas city paid over $300,000 to recover hijacked systems after a ransomware attack shut down emergency services.
  • A county clerk’s office in the Midwest lost six months of land records due to an unprotected cloud storage bucket.
  • Several state transportation departments have had traffic camera feeds manipulated and offline due to unsecured IoT systems.

These are not Fortune 500 companies, they’re the kinds of communities SofTouch Systems serves every day.

Core Areas of Municipal Cybersecurity

To stay ahead of the evolving threat landscape, your city or town must prioritize protection in five critical areas:

1. Network Segmentation and Firewall Hardening

Government networks should be divided into segments by department and sensitivity level. Proper segmentation prevents malware from spreading unchecked.

2. Endpoint Protection for All Devices

Every computer, tablet, and smartphone used by city employees should be monitored and protected with real-time antivirus and behavior-based threat detection.

3. Access Controls and User Policies

Ensure that employees only have access to the systems and files required for their role. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) should be mandatory for all admin-level access.

4. Backup and Disaster Recovery Readiness

Regular backups (on-premises and off-site) are essential. Your systems should be test-restored quarterly to ensure continuity if disaster strikes.

5. Staff Awareness Training

No cybersecurity solution is complete without addressing the human factor. Your staff must be trained to recognize phishing emails, suspicious behavior, and proper data handling practices.

Why DIY Isn’t Enough

Some municipalities attempt to build their security protocols in-house using outdated policies or checklists pulled from the web. While well-intentioned, this approach typically lacks the depth and flexibility needed to defend against modern threats.

Municipal cybersecurity is not just about installing antivirus software or setting passwords. It requires continuous monitoring, system audits, threat intelligence, and rapid response capabilities — something few local IT departments are staffed to deliver.

How SofTouch Systems Supports Cities Like Yours

At SofTouch Systems, we specialize in managed cybersecurity solutions tailored for municipalities, economic development organizations, and civic agencies. Our services include:

  • Risk Assessments to identify weaknesses across networks and devices
  • Compliant Backup Solutions to protect sensitive records and financial systems
  • Security Awareness Training designed for public-sector employees
  • Incident Response Planning so your team knows exactly what to do if an attack occurs
  • Ongoing Monitoring & Support to reduce downtime and maintain compliance

Whether you’re a city of 500 or 50,000, we believe every community deserves enterprise-grade protection with hometown support.

Protect What Matters Most

Your residents trust you to manage their information with care. One data breach can break that trust and compromise years of civic progress. Municipal cybersecurity is a shared responsibility — but you don’t have to manage it alone.

Schedule a no-obligation security consultation with SofTouch Systems today to assess your current risks and discover how we can help build a safer, more resilient digital foundation for your city.