Why you can no longer donate your old laptop through us

Many people in Switzerland can’t afford a computer. Yet so many laptops that are still in working order wind up in the electronic recycling bin or lie gathering dust in a drawer. The non-profit organisation «Wir lernen weiter» has been refurbishing used laptops since 2020 and distributing them to those who need them most. The devices primarily find their way to students from low-income families. The organisation, led by former Digitec Galaxus employee Tobias Schär, has established partnerships with over a thousand municipalities and other organisations in Switzerland. In just under four years, Tobias and his team have redistributed more than 12,000 laptops.

Until recently, you could also donate your used notebook at Digitec and Galaxus stores. This is no longer the case; «Wir lernen weiter» has ended its collaboration with us. This isn’t due to a falling out. Rather, the non-profit has become a victim of its own success. «Companies are donating so many used business laptops to us that we can hardly keep up,» explains Tobias.

One of the reasons why companies value this option so much is because «Wir lernen weiter» wipes data in accordance with the DIN 66399 certification. In other words, donating old laptops is cheaper than recycling them. The organisation picks up larger donations with its own van – and for donations of up to 50 devices, it offers sealed shipping boxes with trackers.

Two become one

The advantage of corporate donations for Tobias and his team is that they often consist of dozens or hundreds of the same models. «This allows us to easily combine two defective devices into one functional one,» says Tobias. And thanks to standard components, the non-profit can also find spare parts for business laptops more easily and cheaply than through topsy-turvy private donations. «Refurbishing private notebooks is simply too time-consuming. It’s easier to refurbish a hundred identical devices than twenty different models,» explains Tobias. Because there are only four people working in the team, time is the most valuable resource. Luckily, Swiss municipalities pay a flat-rate contribution of CHF 250 per laptop.

If you want to donate your old laptop, you can still do so directly to «Wir lernen weiter». You can mail it or hand it in directly at the organisation’s headquarters in Merenschwand in the canton of Aargau.