Why You Need to Properly Dispose of e-Waste

Technology has become more commonplace in offices and homes all around the world, and you might find yourself replacing it more often than previously thought. This leads to an awful lot of waste that can accumulate in your office, be it an extra smartphone, desktop, or something as simple as a random, non-functional hard drive. However, getting rid of your old, unnecessary tech isn’t as simple as throwing paper into a recycling bin, and it shows in the amount of e-waste that infects the world every day.

Have you ever wondered what happens to your old devices after you throw them in the trash? Eventually, any discarded devices of yours will find their way into a landfill or shipped to a third-world country where they will accumulate. Anything used to construct these devices will have ultimately been wasted, as they are now useless hunks of precious metals, glass, and other resources. Here are some statistics about e-waste that might make you rethink tossing that old smartphone into your garbage can.

• 45 million tons of electronics were thrown away in 2016.
• Only 20% of e-waste is properly documented and recycled.
• $55 billion worth of raw materials are wasted on devices that are thrown away--with smartphones alone accounting for about $9 billion.
• 76% of all e-waste is ultimately unaccounted for with an unknown endgame.

With more technology being produced every year, it’s natural to see the amount of e-waste rise as time progresses. Yet, e-waste is a considerable issue for your organization. There is one major pitfall that you’ll want to consider regarding your business’s e-waste: data security.

Data Security
Any data that can be found on your business’ devices is at risk of being compromised, and if you no longer own the devices, this risk grows much greater. Consider this scenario; you discard your old smartphone when you purchase a new one, and a hacker finds it after you have disposed of it. They then proceed to access any accounts connected to it, including access to your company’s cloud-based network and data storage. They can do this even with something like an external hard drive.

The logical conclusion to this dilemma is to make sure that your devices are properly wiped or destroyed prior to disposing them. You can do this by either physically destroying the device itself, or by reaching out to Directive. We can properly take care of your unneeded devices and follow the right steps to make sure that any devices you no longer need won’t unexpectedly place your organization at risk. Plus, we can help you recycle your devices so that they have a reduced chance of filling a dump somewhere halfway across the world.

To learn more about how to eliminate unnecessary devices in an unwasteful manner, reach out to us at 607.433.2200.