Fact: IT as an industry contributes to approximately 34% of all electronic waste. Electronic recycling is an important matter. You’re an IT company or a corporation with a large IT department and you have more than your fair share of old technology. It is taking up precious space and could potentially reveal sensitive information if it fell into the wrong hands. You want to stay on top of potential security threats, and you could use that warehouse space for more practical and profitable matters. Ensure this outcome by hiring an e-waste disposal vendor to handle all the electronic disposal requirements.
Let’s look at some of the pitfalls in having outdated technology not be properly destroyed or recycled.
Security risks. Hard drives contain personnel and client files, company secrets, and other sensitive information. Hard drives need to be thoroughly wiped clean so that they do not pose a threat of a security breach. You’ve read about data breaches. It happens too often these days. According to Forbes, data breaches cost companies over $3 million on average in the United States. Companies do well to employ a vendor that will destroy sensitive information in IT hardware. This is the first step before any consideration of electronic recycling.
The environment. With the overlapping regulations of the EPA and a state’s environmental protection agency, it is important to comply with all electronic waste laws and regulations. A major American communications company was fined over $26 million in 2015 for improper computer disposal measures. You have legal and ethical strictures to adhere to in order to be environmentally responsible and to maintain your business’s integrity. Again, companies will rest easy when they trust their computer recycling matters to a reputable e-waste vendor.
Convenience. Electronics storing, packaging, and transportation is often not the first priority of a company. There are logistical matters to consider when thinking about the proper disposal of e-waste. You do not want to spend your time, money, labor, and other valuable resources doing a job that an e-waste vendor can do. Some of the benefits of this relegation of duties to an e-waste disposal vendor are 1) scheduling, 2) destruction, 3) transportation, and 4) documentation. An e-waste disposal vendor can take a load off, literally, by coming to your company to handle, package and properly destroy and degauss your old electronic waste. They will transport all materials securely to a facility for wiping and cleaning of hard drives and other components with sensitive information. They will then document and report all aspects of the process, so that you can rest assured that the job has been completed and that there is no need to worry about hassle, breaches or environmental issues.
A reliable e-waste disposal vendor will enable to be about your business. Leave the electronics disposal and electronic recycling to the professionals.