E-Waste Disposal: What You Should Destroy and Why

Florida businesses and residents accumulate e-waste. Read below to learn how to identify e-waste, how it can be harmful, and what you can do to manage it.

What is E-Waste and Its Types?

E-waste is a term used to describe electronic items that are either no longer usable or nearing that stage. This can be due to becoming outdated, breaking, or becoming worn out.

Presently, the term “e-waste” encompasses a wide variety of electronic devices. This includes computers, hard drives, tablets, mobile phones, and other electronics. 

How is E-Waste Harmful?

Collectively, these devices that make up e-waste pose a high risk of pollution. That’s because of the toxic components they contain. This includes cadmium, lead, mercury, PCBs, and more. These chemicals can leak out into the environment. This is damaging to the environment and our health.

In addition, the majority of electronic devices are made of plastic and metal. These materials are not biodegradable and sit in a landfill forever.

Destruction and Recycling Guidelines

Recently, electronic technologies have become more prevalent in homes and offices. Hence, environmental laws have emerged. They prohibit the disposal of e-waste. Instead, it must be properly recycled. 

Yet, you have to determine which devices should be destroyed first. In fact, it must be done so data cannot be recovered. By doing so, you’ll keep with consumer privacy laws.  Which devices should you destroy, and why? 

Actually, there’s a problem when trying to determine which e-waste to destroy before recycling. Really, it’s that many electronics these days retain data. Sure, you expect computer equipment, servers, and mobile devices to store data. However, did you know modern printers, copiers, and scanners also have hard drives? 

These days, it’s hard to find newer models that don’t have them. Of course, devices that store data should be shredded (or at least their hard drives should be) before recycling. In doing so, you’ll ensure any sensitive data contained doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Otherwise, it will lead to a potential data breach or identity theft. Perhaps, you don’t think a copy machine is a threat. Yet, it stores employee passcodes. Also, it may accumulate images of printed documents. In other words, e-waste must be properly disposed of so.  If not, it puts your company and/or customers at risk. 

Why E-Waste Can Become a Problem For Businesses and Residents

By now, Florida businesses and residents are aware there’s a threat of data breach. Likely, you take significant precautions to secure data while in use. This includes firewalls, passwords, and encryption. However, you may not take equal care when it comes to IT asset disposition. 

What if sensitive data falls into the wrong hands due to your negligence? In reality, you could face penalties and lawsuits. Also, you’ll suffer a loss of revenue and reputation as a result of a breach. 

Thus, avoid such outcomes. Instead, partner with a shredding service that can destroy documents. Also, select a company that shreds and recycles hard drives and other e-waste.  Finally, ensure they keep with applicable environmental and consumer privacy laws.

How To Manage Your E-Waste

ShredQuick offers services to Florida businesses and residents to help manage e-waste. We offer our services in one-time occurrences, as well as scheduled, recurring. 

Our services are done onsite at your Florida location. Click here to view a list of our service areas throughout Florida. 

Computer Recycling

We offer onsite shredding of your desktop or laptop computers. Our process is guaranteed to destroy all sensitive information while also being safe for the environment.

To read more about our computer and media recycling services, click here to be directed to our computer recycling page.

Hard Drive and Media Destruction Services

Our hard drive and media destruction services ensure all data is wiped clean prior to shredding. This includes a two-step process of first degaussing (erasing) the data, then shredding it. As a result, there’s no chance of a data breach.

To read more about our hard drive destruction services, click here to be directed to our hard drive destruction page. 

Your Next Step For E-Waste Management

Now that you better understand e-waste, it’s time to take action. Contact us today to find out more about how ShredQuick can help you manage e-waste. We’ll walk you through your options and provide you with a free quote upon request.

We are active in the secure destruction industry. This ensures we maintain the highest security standards for our services. In fact, ShredQuick has been awarded the he highest security rating, “AAA Certified” by the International Secure Information Governance & Management Association. 

Contact us today for more information or a free, no hassle quote by filling in the contact form on this page or calling (866) 934-3300.