True cost of IT: E-waste hidden in plain sight

Image created using ChatGPT depicts dusty and neglected storeroom full of cobweb-covered abandoned IT equipment. — *Image created using ChatGPT generative artificial intelligence (AI)*

In this SustMeme Guest Post, Hiren Hasmukh, Founder of IT Asset Management platform Teqtivity, reveals how the true cost of tech gets masked by hidden e-waste gathering dust in storage rooms around the globe.

HH: Every year, companies spend millions on new IT equipment, but often ignore assets they already own.

Organisations regularly discover they have far more usable IT equipment than they realise — fully functional laptops, monitors, and devices sitting forgotten in storage while procurement teams order replacements.

Not only is this wasteful, it’s a massive missed opportunity for both sustainability and cost savings.

Bigger problem with IT

Most discussions about e-waste focus on recycling and disposal. But the bigger issue is that much of what companies consider ‘e-waste’ isn’t actually waste at all, it’s just invisible.

Here’s what typically happens: An employee leaves, their equipment gets collected, and IT stores it ‘temporarily’ until they can process it. Months pass. The device gets pushed to the back of a storage room.

Eventually, everyone forgets it exists. Meanwhile, when a fresh hire needs a laptop, the company orders a new one because nobody knows or remembers there are perfectly good devices already available.

This cycle repeats across departments, offices, and business units. The result?

Storage rooms fill with functional equipment; while purchase orders for new devices continue to flow.

Assets gone AWOL

According to the Q1 2025 SME IT Trends Report from JumpCloud, 26% of IT teams still manage assets using 11 or more disparate tools, while many organisations rely on spreadsheets or institutional memory.

This fragmentation creates dangerous blindspots where equipment simply disappears from view.

The consequences extend beyond operational inefficiency, with implications for sustainability and budgets.

When organisations lack visibility into their IT assets, they make purchasing decisions based on incomplete information — often buying equipment they already own but cannot locate.

The visibility gap

So why does this happen? In most cases, the root cause isn’t incompetence; it’s visibility.

When employees leave with knowledge of where everything is stored, that information vanishes. IT departments know they have equipment somewhere, but without real-time visibility into location, condition, and availability, it is often faster to just order something new than to hunt through storage rooms.

According to industry stats, data centres currently contribute 1-2% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions; while the broader IT sector already accounted for 3-4% of global carbon emissions way back in 2019.

So, with electricity consumption on the rise, plus artificial intelligence driving demand higher still, these numbers are only going to get worse. Yet companies continue buying new equipment while perfectly functional devices sit unused — contributing to both financial waste and environmental impact.

Cost of poor management

Research shows that 39% of organisations now spend 26-50% of their IT budget on licensing fees alone, up from 28% just months earlier. This dramatic increase suggests they are losing control of technology spend, often making unnecessary purchases because they lack visibility into what they already own.

The impacts extend beyond just direct costs. So, when organisations don’t know their own assets:

New purchases duplicate existing equipment;
Security vulnerabilities emerge from untracked devices;
Compliance risks increase with invisible IT assets; plus
Sustainability initiatives lack credible foundations.

Conduct an e-waste audit

Before investing in any new ‘green’ IT initiative, organisations should conduct an internal e-waste audit:

Map Every Device Location: Don’t rely on memory or outdated spreadsheets — physically locate every device, regardless of storage location or assumed condition.
Test Before Assuming It’s Waste: Many devices in long-term storage are still functional and simply need updates or minor repairs.
Connect IT and Finance Data: When IT knows what’s available and Finance can see spending patterns, organisations are able to identify where new purchases are unnecessary.
Establish Clear Protocols: Create processes for equipment return, assessment, and redeployment — make it easier to reuse existing assets than to order new ones.

Sustainability win-win-win

Organisations that implement comprehensive asset tracking discover immediate benefits.

Instead of buying new devices for office expansions or new hires, they can redeploy existing assets and donate surplus equipment to local schools and nonprofits.

The results include: zero unnecessary device purchases; thousands of pounds of e-waste prevented; and genuine sustainability impact that resonates with both employees and clients.

Start in storage for real ROI

The most sustainable device is the one that doesn’t need to be manufactured. So, before companies can make credible green claims about in-house IT, they need to stop buying equipment they already own.

Proper IT asset management is about recognising that the most environmentally responsible choice is often to be found in the storage room. When companies can see what they already have, they tend to make smarter decisions about what they actually need.

Ultimately, therefore, the path to sustainable IT doesn’t start with recycling programmes or carbon offsets. It begins with knowing what assets already exist and using them efficiently before buying new ones.

Hiren Hasmukh is CEO and Founder of Teqtivity, an IT Asset Management platform helping organisations bridge the gap between IT systems, financial data, and sustainability goals. With over two decades in technology, Hiren specialises in helping companies discover and leverage the assets they already own. You can connect with Hiren on LinkedIn; and follow Teqtivity on Twitter/X.

Further Reading: