Electronic Waste Doesn’t Belong In The Garbage
Today’s best practices for business include upgrading equipment when warranties are expired, materials fail, or a newer solution is a better fit. Businesses, we would hope, want to keep up with technology and trends to improve operational efficiency; however, this can result in significant e-waste.
What is E-Waste?
Electronic waste (“e-waste” for short) is the term to describe all the hardware that is replaced, recycled, or removed. What you may not realize is that the material that this waste is comprised of can include elements such as cadmium, mercury, lead, and other contaminants, all of which can leak from landfills or ashes when burned. This can result in seriously detrimental exposure that is unsafe for our communities and the environment.
The EPA reports that only an estimated 15-20% of electronic waste is being disposed of by way of appropriate measures. This is quickly becoming a concerning problem worldwide, especially since less developed countries have not yet devised an effective plan for handling this type of waste properly.
Federal and local initiatives are growing to implement methods for environmentally sound management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
Don’t Throw Out Your Data With The Device
Dumpster divers are thieves that prey on data still saved on your trashed devices. Even electronic recycling services may not offer truly secure data destruction that will prevent inappropriate exposure to other parties and subsequent data theft. Your first step, before getting rid of any hardware, is to ensure that all your data, especially that which is private or sensitive, is removed from the device.
How You Can Help
Once you’re confident that no information is left on that device, the recycling should be handled by professionals through services that can offer environmentally-friendly techniques for following through.
Our organization is specialized in both removal and transfer of information and subsequent replacement and recycling of old technology.
Contact us to preserve your valuable data and get rid of that e-waste the responsible way!