Data centers are incredibly important to keep businesses moving and successful; however, they also produce large amounts of electronic waste. Technology is a big part of almost everyone’s daily lives, but most individuals tend to use their electronic devices until they break or simply have no more useful life. On the other hand, data centers go through servers, switches, and networking hardware more quickly than the average person. Because this creates a large amount of e-waste, you must know the ways to handle e-waste at your data center.
Reuse and Repair
Although you may think you need to replace a piece of equipment as soon as it stops functioning at the highest possible level, there’s nothing wrong with reusing and repairing your technology. Believe it or not, you can help yourself and the environment by deciding to reuse devices that still get the job done. Furthermore, many servers and other electronics are extremely receptive to repairs. While it may seem easier to replace dysfunctioning technology, you shouldn’t automatically decide against reusing and repairing it.
Sell to a Buyback Program
Before ridding your data center of old devices, you should consider an electronic buyback program for CPUs and RAM. Often, these programs will take electronics of working and non-working order. If they can sell or reuse some of the parts, they may consider taking the devices off your hands. While this may not be the best choice every time you have excess e-waste, it can’t hurt to see what they say about your items.
Recycle Your E-Waste
Unfortunately, many people still believe it’s okay to add electronic devices to their regular garbage when they stop working. With that in mind, you should never put your old computers, phones, or other electronics out into the environment. Many companies collect e-waste for safe recycling, which takes the burden off of you. Furthermore, many recycling facilities provide electronic recycling pick-up services for commercial businesses with large data centers.
Aim for Sustainability
While the goal is to attenuate the amount of e-waste in landfills, not producing any at all is next to impossible for many businesses. You should aim for sustainability when choosing your technology. Consider selecting products with longer expected lifespans or that come from recycled materials; these practices can help the environment in the long run and save you from replacing or repairing your devices frequently.
After learning the ways to handle e-waste at your data center, you can ensure that you’re doing everything necessary to manage your technology accordingly. While some amount of e-waste is inevitable, knowing proper disposal practices and how to reduce e-waste production is imperative.