We often upgrade or replace electronic devices, leading to a buildup of old gadgets. Properly recycling these devices not only helps protect the environment but also ensures you handle your e-waste responsibly. Whether you’re clearing out old smartphones, laptops, or other electronics, here’s a straightforward guide on the dos and don’ts of recycling your personal electronics.

This is an excellent time to decide what your priorities will be for the next year, including how long you want to hold onto electronics and how you can responsibly dispose of old or unused ones to prevent electronic waste, or e-waste, from building up in landfills.

Whether you went on a year-end spending spree for the latest electronics for your business or simply need to replace or decommission old and outdated equipment, recycling your electronics is a great idea. But it’s important to know the proper way to dispose of it and why it’s so important in the first place.

The holiday season is exciting . For many consumers, whether it’s a new TV, a new mobile phone or a cool new toy for the parents or the kids, there’s no better time of the year. But in with the new too often means out to the garbage – and not to recycling – with the old. We are often tempted to put that old tv on the curb when we get the shiny, new big one but that comes with its problems. For one, when e-waste is disposed of and not recycled, many of these chemical-laden or mercury and lead-containing products end up in landfills where they can do harm to both the local residents and wildlife. In the instance its burned, harmful chemicals can leech out into the air.

Whether through planned obsolescence or the desire for better, faster technology, e-waste has become a real issue. In fact, the average consumer disposes of nearly 50lbs of e-waste per year. 50 lbs! And while the vast majority of waste in landfills is not e-waste – in fact, it’s less than 4% - its among the most harmful. The chemicals inherent to building computers, cell phones and other devices mix with the earth, water and the air to produce effects that can be harmful to both people and wildlife. And though they aren’t as prevalent as they used to be, there are also tax benefits available to those that make the effort to recycle e-waste.

You spend on devices. You spend on hardware and software updates and upgrades. But how are you protecting your investment? ITAD (Information Technology Asset Disposition) is an important and sometimes overlooked means of ensuring that you have the means to recycle, refurbish and dispose of your old technology securely while maintaining your data security. And here’s a little more about why it’s so critical.

As summer is winding down, we thought we would feature some fun activities that encourage the whole family to make sustainable choices. While we are primarily a scrap & e-waste recycling company, we are environmentally conscious and interested in ensuring all recyclable materials are utilized and disposed of properly. By getting the whole family involved, we can ensure our planet has the resources to sustain us all for generations. 

Corporate Compliance regulations vary by industry, but they are crucial in developing your company’s risk management policy. One of the biggest risks of exposure for your company is through poor data destruction polices. Simply destroying IT assets or throwing them out with the trash is not an option, particularly if your organization deals with sensitive data.