For many Australian businesses, a changeover in technology (or even a dying old computer) means one thing: your investment, your trusted work tool, and your data ends up in landfill. It’s typically done without much consideration of alternatives, or any thought of the risks.
For any business owner looking to capitalise on their assets – and keep their business out of danger – e-waste destruction and recycling is your best solution.
What is e-waste?
E-waste is simply any digital product that has reached the end of its useful life. This could include hard drives, magnetic tapes, mobile phones, USB drives, computers, and plenty more.
The common trend of most e-waste is that, at some point in its life, it held data integral to your business. From client contact information through to banking records, there’s a wealth of information we take for granted in our used technology; information that could put your business at serious risk if it fell into the hands of the wrong person. The new Notifiable Data Breach laws which came into effect on 22nd February 2018, is an addition to the Privacy Act 1988 and increase the level of responsibility an organisation has with securing personal information of staff, stakeholders, and customers.
Why is e-waste recycling and destruction important?
For financial, security, legal, and environmental reasons, e-waste recycling and destruction are the smartest options.
E-waste is worth gold
In many circumstances, that’s literally the case. You wouldn’t believe how many everyday pieces of technology contain precious metals which means e-waste whether containing data or not shouldn’t be sent to landfill when components can be recycled
The American Chemical Society believes that around 50 million tonnes of e-waste is destined for landfill in 2018 alone. That will range through:
- Old televisions
- Computer monitors
- Computers
- Mobile phones
- DVD players
- Hard drives
- Literally tonnes more.
So, what are they worth?
Let’s take a look at the humble old cathode-ray tube television. The friendly giant who illuminated living rooms all over the world for the best part of 50 years. In each, you’ll find about a pound of pure copper, and traces of pure gold.
In more modern technology, your average computer contains traces of almost every valuable metal you can imagine. Most circuit boards contain elements of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, aluminium, nickel, tantalum, tin, zinc, and more.
E-waste has become so valuable that ‘urban mining’ is now an established industry – and it’s believed that mining landfill for the metals in e-waste is 13 times cheaper than traditional mining of ores. By disposing of your e-waste correctly you are not only protecting your business but also contributing to environmental sustainability. Now that’s good business!
Keep you and your business protected
Erasing your hard drive before disposal doesn’t secure you against information theft. Unless you’ve had your e-waste completely destroyed through Shred-X, there’s still a chance your information could be used against you.
From Hard Drive Degaussing to Digital Media Destruction, our e-waste solutions cover everything your business needs to assist in mitigating the risk of a data breach. Find out more on how our E-Waste Solutions can be beneficial for your business.
Get your e-waste sorted today
For any business looking to dispose of digital or electronic materials, it’s a no-brainer. Having your e-waste properly and securely disposed of is the smartest, safest, and most sustainable step you can take.
For the ultimate in information protection and security, have your e-waste removed through any of Shred-X’s eight NAID AAA Certified Destruction Facilities. Get in touch to find your local centre today.