Save Your Environment with E-Waste Recycling

Electronic waste recycling and end of life hardware destruction provide a range of environmental benefits. E-waste includes stuff like printers, computers, stereos, TVs, etc. Commercial places also comprise of electronic waste like imaging equipment, broken dialysis machines, autoclaves, massage chairs, etc.  The waste has become one of the most wildly growing environmental problems across the world. Safe recycling of electronics offers a range of benefits to the environment. Here we will consider the most important environmental benefits of e-waste recycling: 

Decreased mining of virgin materials

A lot of electronic components comprise of metallic elements and minerals that are needed to be mined from distinct mining fields across the world. The nonstop mining of resources leads to their depletion and affects the environment in a negative manner. When you recycle electronic components like circuit boards, significant amount of elements like gold, tin, silver, copper and palladium can be harvested. This results in decreased mining of virgin materials.

Prevention of landfill usage

Landfills are a grave environmental hazard and affect all living beings, be it animals, humans or plants. When you do not recycle e-waste, it ends up with informal and untrained waste operators who dump the waste in landfills. After some time, the toxic, metallic and plastic materials in the electronic waste begin to leech through the ground via landfills and enter the nearby water resources. Electronic recycling reduces landfills that have a negative impact on the environment and water bodies. When you hand over the responsibility of electronic waste to certified e-waste recyclers, you get to ensure that effective care is taken to reuse the elements that can be recycled and reused. 

Safeguard water bodies from toxic waste poisoning 

As discussed above, landfills release toxic chemicals into the groundwater and these chemicals enter the nearby freshwater bodies and wells. This water is then consumed by animals and people who become sick owing to chemical poisoning. E-waste recycling helps prevent a good amount of toxic chemicals from leaching into water bodies and makes sure that water is kept safe and fresh. 

Reduction in air pollution 

Electronic waste recycling helps in reducing air pollution owing to toxic gases. When you ensure that your old and obsolete electronics are recycled effectively and not burned directly, you do your part in making sure that the poisonous gases do not get released into the air. When e-waste is burned, the high temperature on the components leads to the release of poisonous gases into the air which negatively impacts the living beings. 

Save energy and land

When metals are produced from mining ores, a good amount of land and energy are consumed. Drilling of holes underground leads to the places becoming wasteland and this harms the environment. The holes can also destabilize the surrounding grounds when there are heavy rains. When you use the services of an electronic recycling provider to recycle e-waste, you help limit continuous mining and assist the environmentalists save energy and avoid wastage of land. 

Reduction of health hazards on the environment

When electronic waste is disposed of improperly in a place, the local residents experience health problems like skin disease that arise from the improper disposal of electronic waste. When the environment suffers, people suffer too. Effective electronic waste recycling helps in protecting the environment from toxic and hazardous substances that can affect people who utilize these natural resources. You can get rid of environmental hazards from poisonous gases, leeching metals and dust from burning and mining waste by safe recycling of electronic waste. 

Promote fisheries resources

E-waste contains toxins and when the waste is dumped in landfills, it leeches into water bodies and kill fish and other aquatic animals. Electronic recycling reduces water poisoning and keeps the water fresh for plants and animals.  

How Electronic Waste Affects Our Health and the Environment

In order to stay relevant and operational in the market, a lot of businesses today have to rely on electronics. With the increasing demands on business, the need for electronics also increases. Businesses increasingly look for smartest and fastest technologies that can effectively handle their everyday workload. With the increasing speed of technological innovation in the society, one needs to be careful of the way in which they dispose of their electronics when they reach their end of life. It is vital that services of electronic recycling and end of life hardware destruction are utilized to get rid of the electronic waste responsibly. Let us have a look into what e-waste is and how it impacts the environment and our health: 

Insight into e-waste 

Electronic waste or e-waste denotes any electronic device that is no longer functional or useful and has become obsolete. E-waste is considered to be one the fastest growing streams of waste across the world. It comprises of all the unusable, broken and outdated/obsolete components, devices and materials. E-waste also comprises of items that can be effectively recycled with the help of an electronic recycling program that includes electronics that can be easily reused, recycled, salvaged or resold.  

The harmful effects of electronic waste 

A lot of people get a false sense of security with their electronics. They are unaware of the harmful effects that accompany their old electronics. They think that their obsolete devices are non-hazardous. However, this is not the case. The seemingly benign exterior and the sleek surfaces of the old electronics do not portray them as stuff that can present any harm to our health or to the health of the environment. The exterior might mislead you into believing that the substances are safe but it is the interior that makes the e-waste so dangerous. 

The inside of the electronic waste contains harmful substances like lead, mercury, beryllium, arsenic, cadmium and brominated flame retardants. These substances can pose serious health concerns if they are not handled carefully with the help of an electronic recycling provider. The substances can cause severe illnesses, neurological damage and organ damage. The issues are a grave risk to the workers who directly handle electronic waste and present a threat to the communities that are shipped superfluous electronic waste.

Impact of e-waste on the environment 

Electronic waste has a negative impact on the water, soil and air of the earth. 

Impact on water

Electronics like computer batteries and mobile contain heavy metals like mercury, lithium, barium and lead. When these contaminants are disposed of in a landfill or handled improperly, they can leak into the soil and ultimately reach the groundwater. Once they reach groundwater, heavy metals make their way into ponds, lakes, rivers and streams. The heavy metals lead to the toxicity of the water tables and they become unfeasible for plants, animals and communities that depend on them. 

Impact on soil

Soil acts as medium by which heavy metals get water and thus is affected by the harmful contaminants. E-waste leads to a negative impact on the soil which ultimately affects the crop and the food. When soil gets contaminated by heavy metals that seep out of electronic waste, the crops and the food is impacted negatively. This leads to illnesses in humans.

Impact on the atmosphere

Many utilize the burning of electronic waste as a way of disposing it of or of extracting valuable metals like copper from it. Nevertheless, the burning of electronic devices like computer monitors can result in the release of pollutants like heavy metals, brominated dioxins and hydrocarbons into the air. This affects the air quality and our health. Thus, it is vital that electronic recycling services are utilized to handle e-waste reliably. 

How Can You Identify A Professional E-Waste Recycling Company?

 

Electronic waste comprises of computer equipment and other IT assets that are generally utilized in businesses and also certain homes. The disposal of electronic waste needs consideration as it can lead to the leakage of sensitive and confidential information. Hackers and other third party people can retrieve data from e-waste. Thus, it is vital that services of corporate electronic recycling are utilized to dispose of the e-waste in a responsible manner.   

It is vital that you maintain confidentiality by choosing the right electronic waste recycling company that works in compliance with the quality standards and rules for e-waste recycling. Here’s a look at the vital qualities of a professional e-waste recycling company that you need to consider: 

Experienced Staff

Professional and reliable e-waste recycling companies are equipped with highly trained staff. The workers of the company comprehend the concepts that are involved in the recycling of e-waste and you won’t be concerned about the safety of your data anymore. Staff that is qualified well comprehends the significance of not compromising data that pose a business at risk. The staff is knowledgeable about the value of your electronic equipment and will stick to your rules in order to ensure that you are completely satisfied with their services. 

Right equipment

A reputable hard drive destruction or e-waste recycling company has high-tech equipment and the right facilities to make sure that they maintain appropriate quality for recycling electronic waste.  Cutting-edge equipment helps in proving that no data can be retrieved from the electronic gadgets that are getting recycled. In the same way, a company needs to have the right equipment to sort out the electronic waste and pack appropriately depending on the value of the electronic waste. The crucial thing with advanced equipment is that they guarantee that all assets are destroyed successfully which prevents any leakage of data and information.

  

Availability

Availability is a great quality that electronic waste recycling companies are required to maintain in order to keep a good reputation. Companies that are readily available to handle your electronic waste are extremely advantageous, especially when you are dealing with a range of electronics in your business. In the event of an emergency, the recycler should be in a position to cater to your needs and their working hours should be flexible. The availability of a company can significantly diminish the cost of keeping the e-waste in your business. Your business also receives protection from unauthorized people.    

Offers a reasonable price

A reliable e-waste recycling company will not charge you unfairly for disposing of your old and obsolete electronic equipment. The company should permit its clients to negotiate the prices and should also provide discounts to keep their clients happy and attract new clients. Similarly, the recycling company should provide you a reasonable and clear estimation of the all-inclusive price for you to consider for recycling your equipment. You would be working within a specific budget and the recycling company need to ensure that it provides you trustworthy services according to your budget and quality should not be compromised. You won’t be concerned about the pricing anymore as the recycling company will offer you suggestions about the affordable and the most effective mode of payment.  

The employees of today need to work with organizations that do their part for the community and the environment. Recycling of electronic waste is an easy and effective way for an organization to depict its commitment to environmental and social values and reinforce these principles to their employees. Reliable local electronic waste recycling services operate under strict environmental compliance and are certified to carry out their job effectively. 

Why Recycling Of E-waste Is Necessary?

 

With the improvement in technology, the size of electronic devices is decreasing. Readers can understand this by checking how big the first computer was. Accordingly, they can compare it with new laptops. There’s a huge difference between the sizes of both. Also, with time, people are more relying on modern computers instead of employees for work. In many areas like printing tickets, computers have replaced manpower. In the future, when AI/ML technologies will be fully developed, the requirement of humans for work may decrease at a great extent. From this, one can understand the explosive growth of e-waste companies devices and electronic waste recycling services. These services are provided by electronic recyclers and companies.

Now every coin has two sides. No one can deny the fact that there are tremendous benefits of these devices. But, there are also, a lot of harmful effects like increasing pollution and carbon emission. That’s why it is important to acknowledge the harmful effects and start focusing on data destruction and national electronic recycling. For this, individuals or Businesses can hire E-waste companies. 

What’s E-waste?

When the electronic devices reach the end of life state, they are termed as Electronic waste. These devices are unable to conduct their basic operations. For example, an outdated laptop has no supporting graphics and software. Accordingly to some researches, 20% of the electronic waste is Recycled while 80% still ends up in landfills. This 80% of E-waste is the main reason for increasing land and air pollution. 

Why E-waste recycling is necessary?

• Saving natural resources: When electronic waste is Recycled, the core natural components are easily reused. Now manufacturing companies can use them for creating new devices. For example, suppose the mercury is extracted from the recycling process. There is no need to extract new Mercury by depleting natural resources. That’s how natural resources are saved by Recycling. 

• Less carbon emission: Continuing the above discussion, the usage of oil decreases as the machines are not used for extracting oil. That’s why carbon emission is low. Many countries are working delicately to reduce the carbon emission as they’ve to fulfil the promises of Paris agreement. 

• Fewer chances of identity theft: Many people throw their electronic devices without even considering the data. That’s why when these devices are recovered by computer professionals or black hat hackers, the data is recovered. That’s why the process of carding becomes easier. In carding, the credit and debit card numbers are recovered. Hackers use them for making huge purchases for their living. Not only this but social media profiles are also recovered for blackmailing them. 

Many people think that they’ve deleted entire data and no one can recover it. That’s a big mistake. By using just two or three software, hackers can recover the data. Let’s understand how:

When the data is deleted, the threads pointing to the data are deleted. These are called pointers. Now when the data is deleted from Recycle bin, the data is deleted. But, it can still be recovered because that’s temporary deletion. To delete the data permanently, one should clear the recycle bin and overwrite the data multiple times. Only then it can be permanently deleted. 

• Fewer chances of getting involved in legal battles: If the data of businesses get compromised then they may have to pay huge fines. The investors or clients may even file lawsuits for cheating or leaking data. Here the market reputation is also affected. That’s why businesses should always choose permanent method or deletion. If the quantity of electronic devices is huge then hiring electronic waste recycling companies can be a good idea. They are Certified and after deletion, they provide Certificate of permanent data removal.

Ways in Which Kids Can Help In Solving the Problem of E-Waste

 

Did you know that an average home has 24 electronic products? When you stop using your electronic products, they become electronic waste or e-waste. It is vital that this e-waste of yours does not end up in trash. Even small stuff like batteries and smartphones should not go in trash. E-waste is harmful to the environment and when you throw it in trash; you also end up throwing away the valuable metals present in it. This is why services of local electronic recycling and hard drive destruction are significant. They ensure that the e-waste is handled in the most reliable manner and the valuable substances present in them are recovered effectively.

    

What should you do with your old electronics? 

Give them away for reuse: At times, you have a thing that is still working but you do not use it anymore. The best thing to do here is to give that thing away to somebody who could use it. If you cannot find a friend or a family member who wants that electronic item, you can donate it to a charity.  

Recycle them: If you are not able to find someone who needs your electronic gadget, you can recycle it. Just like bottles or cans or newspapers from your house, electronic items can be recycled too. 

Where should you take your electronic waste for recycling?

There are companies that are happy to take your old electronics items, take them apart and recycle them for important materials like glass, metals and plastic. A lot of these materials can be utilized to make new products. 

Get in touch with a good e-waste recycler: When you are planning to recycle your old electronics, you should consider electronic recycling companies with an e-Stewards certification. E-stewards are recyclers who meet the best standards on how they recycle your stuff. They recycle electronic items in the best possible manner and do not ship them off to poor countries.  

Staples stores: If you are not able to find an e-Steward recycler near your place, you can take some of your electronics back to any Staples Store for the purpose of electronic recycling. Staples is equipped with a free recycling program that works with an e-Steward recycler. 

Best Buy stores: If you have certain big electronic items that Staples cannot take (eg. televisions), you can take these to any Best Buy Store. 

Kids can also learn to fix their broken electronic gadgets on their own or do a fundraiser or smartphone recycling drive in their school. This will also encourage other kids to take e-waste recycling seriously.

ITAD and Why Businesses Cannot Do Without It

 

The irresponsible dumping of IT assets and electronic waste has become a major concern across the globe. The growth in technology cannot be stopped and it is essential for the growth of economy. Thus, it is vital that we manage the ways in which we dispose of our e-waste. This is where ITAD companies and services of national electronic recycling come into the picture. Your obsolete IT assets were once utilized to store and transmit important information. If they are not disposed of in a proper manner with complete data erasure using data destruction processes, they present a security risk to the company. Thus, effective ITAD is crucial. 

Important elements of an ITAD program 

ITAD or IT asset disposition is the business that involves disposing of unwanted or obsolete IT equipment in an eco-friendly and safe manner. An effectively planned ITAD program follows the following four steps: 

Transportation and logistics: It is the process in which old and surplus electronic assets depending on their reusability are labeled and transported to the place of their destruction.

Refurbishing: Once the equipment is sorted depending on their usability, they can be reused and restored. They can also be resold at market prices.

Data destruction: Data destruction is the most important component and it ensures that the entire data is destroyed in a foolproof manner. The certificates of data destruction are important for audit purposes. 

Recycling & reporting: Recycling is the final part of ITAD. In case your equipment gets listed as ‘not-reusable’, it will be sent away for the purpose of recycling. While recycling, the equipment reusable elements and components are taken out and the rest is incinerated. 

Chief advantages of an ITAD program

Inventory management 

IT gadgets are pivotal to run a business and as we grow, technology grows too. This makes it necessary to get rid of old equipment and upgrade the systems. With the help of ITAD companies, you get yourselves rid of the crisis linked with getting rid of your old equipment in an efficient manner. 

Management of cost of logistics 

It is not possible to dispose of your obsolete IT equipment on your own. This is because you will have to handle the tasks of collecting, sorting, labeling, grouping, removing, refurbishing and recycling. This can lead to breaking, losing or missing your equipment. ITAD companies help you save time, money and stress. 

Ensure secure data disposal 

It is vital that data erasure is safe and verified and ITAD ensures that. When data is destroyed in an irresponsible manner, it results in data breach that harms the organization and its employees and clients. ITAD makes sure that your data is destroyed responsibly via data destruction and then it is sent for recycling or reselling. 

In compliance with the law

Responsible disposition of assets expects that you follow the multiple local/national, corporate and environmental laws and regulations. When a business fails to adhere to these laws, it results in breach of trust and huge penalty. This also causes embarrassment for the business. An ITAD company makes sure that your disposition is done in adherence to the set regulations and laws.

Utmost value recovery

Asset disposition is not only expenditure, but also asset recovery. This implies that you receive value or revenue by refurbishing or reselling your electronic waste. An ITAD program that is well-planned helps in recovering the maximum from your used IT and telecom equipment directly via costs linked with reselling and elements recovered during recycling and indirectly by saving you from any breaching compliance and penalty. 

Thus, ITAD is crucial for your organization and you need to take it seriously so that your business makes the most of its old and obsolete IT assets. 

Essential Methods of Disposing Your Electronic Waste

 

E-waste is made from deadly chemicals like cadmium, lead, beryllium and mercury. When gadgets are disposed of in an improper manner, the hazardous substances present in them end up contaminating the soil and air and also reach water bodies. In spite of having services of local electronic recycling and corporate electronic recycling, a lot of e-waste ends up being shipped overseas and gadgets get buried in pits. It is vital that people adopt eco-friendly waste disposal methods so that they can dispose of their e-waste locally. Here’s a look at the distinct ways of safely disposing electronic waste: 

Sell your outdated electronics 

The electronic you are no longer using can be easily sold. Online websites like eBay and Craigslist can help you get rid of your outdated electronics and you can also earn money. You can also have a garage sale for your old electronic products and sell them to people who really need them. A lot of electronic shops are forever ready to buy old electronics from people. 

Give the electronics back your electronic company 

A range of electronic companies offer an exchange policy to their customers whereby they take back the old gadget from the customers when they buy a new version of the gadget. Customers also receive a discount on their new purchase. Some recycling companies have also set up initiatives for electronic drop off. They have drop off points for products like tablets and mobile phones. You can get in touch with local electronics shop to gain information concerning drop off locations.  

Give your e-waste to certified e-waste recycler

E-waste recycling equips you with good options of local electronic recycling. You need to get in touch with an e-waste recycler that is officially certified by the Basel Action Network (BAN). Basel Action Network is a non-profit organization of recycling companies that are dedicated to recycle electronic waste in a responsible and safe manner. All members are required to make a pledge and demonstrate their Pledges of Responsible Recycling. Thus, working with a certified recycler implies that you do not have to worry about risking losing your personal details to criminals or polluting another nation via export of e-waste. 

Go to civic Institutions

Enquire amongst your universities, schools and government for any programs of recycling they are running as a range of organizations have started assigning a particular place and day for citizens who are environmentally conscious to come and drop off their electronic waste.