The public sector needs to follow the private sector best practice in the disposal of obsolete IT hardware, says a National Audit Office (NAO) report published today.

There are potential savings and efficiency improvements. But further work is needed to established the full cost and benefit implications of changing the way public organisations manage their technology estates, says the report.

A major change would be speeding up the refresh rate from five years to three years, in line with commercial business practice, with implications for both the re-sale value and environmental impact of the hardware.

The NAO is calling for a 'whole life review' of public sector IT equipment, conducted by central government agencies such as the Office of Government Commerce.

'Government has so far not given enough thought to how it disposes of its computers and related equipment. Growing concerns about the environment and the increasing volumes of equipment means this issue is becoming more important,' said NAO head Sir John Bourn.

'Government needs to understand better the trade-offs between securing better immediate financial value and the wider environmental costs and benefits associated with the disposal of IT equipment. It should then use this knowledge to develop appropriate procurement and disposal strategies,' he said.