Firestone Complete Auto Care joins Walmart and Morgan Stanley with its own e waste disposal debacle.
In the past six months, we’ve devoted several blog posts to highlighting e waste disposal failures by big companies. The sheer number of issues really underscores how challenging the task of parting with retired IT equipment can be.
Recycling e waste is far from all we do. With total asset recovery services, we can help you take ITAD recycling to the next level.
There’s more to e waste management than recycling. The key to recouping value is, of course, IT Asset Disposition. Although you may know us as your electronics recycler, ITAD recycling is actually another area where Global Electronic Recycling shines.
We typically don’t spend a lot of time directly promoting our own services, but sometimes you need to toot your own horn, right?
The fact is we provide total asset recovery services for your surplus equipment inventory, manufactured parts, obsolete devices, and end-of-life IT equipment. We built our Global Asset Recovery Program to help you get the most out of your retired assets. Our win-win revenue sharing model means that after we perform necessary repairs, we sell the units through our resale channels and you get paid for the items sold.
The best time for ITAD recycling is now
Coincidentally, asset remarketing is more lucrative than ever. The supply chain shortages have not only caused disruption, they have also resulted in increased demand for refurbished products (we’ll write more about this trend next week). Now is, in other words, an ideal time to capitalize on ITAD recycling.
In summary, this is how easy it is to get started:
Schedule a pickup with GER for your surplus inventory, obsolete, or end-of-life IT equipment
GER tests and repairs the devices, and sanitizes all data
GER leverages its retail and bulk sales channels to sell the devices for the best possible price
You get a detailed report of devices sold, including a certificate of data erasure for data-bearing devices
We send your company its share of the revenue from the sale of the devices
Now, let’s look at each of these steps in more detail.
Schedule a pickup
We wrote as recently as last week about the ins and outs of pickup day. A key feature of the pickup process is our intuitive request pickup form. It allows you to specify exactly what assets you are looking to part with and it helps us prepare to make the pickup as swift as possible.
An ill-prepared electronic recycler, on the other hand, can turn it into a hassle and make you feel like it’s not worth your time. We have heard too many stories of mishaps on this important day. The customized form straightens out all question marks in advance and sets you up for success from the very beginning.
Test, repair, sanitize
First of all, we transport your ITAD assets to our secure testing facility and remarketing site. We then evaluate each asset’s functionality and value. In the event an asset cannot be recovered — perhaps it’s beyond repair, or too dated for resale — it will be recycled.
Once our experts have refurbished and tested the assets, they are only one step away from entering the resale market. To protect the integrity of your brand and prevent data leaks, we also sanitize your data to the NIST 800-88 standard for data security. Now, they are ready for the next step of ITAD recycling: remarketing.
Time for remarketing
GER has a long history of establishing sales channels and successfully leveraging sales in secondary markets. Depending on the nature of your assets, we use retail and/or bulk sales channels to yield the best possible price. Our experience and established channels also give yet another advantage. It allows us to successfully remarket a very high percentage as well as a wide variety of customer assets.
So, what’s the most in-demand?
Two trends stand out:
Testing and lab equipment: This type of equipment retains a significant portion of its value, making it an ideal candidate for remarketing. It’s also not a common sight in secondary markets, mostly because many recyclers don’t know how to remarket these products. Low inventory coupled with high demand translates into a win for you.
Laptops: Laptop sales are skyrocketing. Driven by the pandemic, global shipments of laptops reached 218 million in 2020, a 26% year-over-year bump. Even as we have put the height of the work-from-home days behind us, that figure has continued to grow and is expected to hit 225 million in 2021. Massive demand coupled with supply chain disruptions have made the remarketing of laptops a very worthwhile endeavor.
Detailed report
We know the importance of reporting when it comes to ITAD recycling. Local, state, and federal regulatory bodies all demand different sets of data. Then, you also have your internal supply chain management demands to take into account.
To make your life easy, we create a detailed inventory with the serial number, make, model, asset tag, and other relevant information that allows you to reconcile the recovered assets against your records. You also get a certificate of erasure for data-bearing devices.
Revenue sharing
Here comes the best part. Your end-of-life assets that you had no use for have turned into a new revenue stream. We split the profits from the sale of your devices — 50/50.
How can we help you get your ITAD recycling started?
When should you select hard drive shredding? We answer that and more in this post.
With millions of electronic devices reaching the end of life every year, businesses inevitably question what to do next. High-profile data breaches, fines for inappropriate handling of protected data, and environmental concerns have brought electronic recycling into the spotlight.
In return, businesses have become increasingly aware of the importance of prioritizing the disposition of their obsolete IT assets, including the need for data destruction. Many of the questions that we receive concern hard drive shredding:
How does hard drive shedding work?
When should it be performed?
How do I know the job was done right?
Are there other methods?
Let’s get to the answers:
How does hard drive shredding work?
DIY is not an option
First of all, we need to make clear what hard drive shredding is not. Taking a hammer to a hard drive or piercing it with a drill does not constitute adequate destruction. This still needs to be said as we do come across businesses which — well-intentioned as their effort may be — think the do-it-yourself methods can take the place of professional shredding. Similarly, simply erasing hard drives prior to disposal does not stop third parties from retrieving the data.
Certified partner, right equipment
In fact, only mechanical destruction performed by a certified partner with the right shredding equipment can guarantee absolute security. At Global Electronic Recycling, we use the Untha Industrial Shredder. This top-of-the-line shredder shreds hard drives to NIST 800-88 and the DIN 66399-2 standards (destruction systems for files and data carriers).
As a result of the high flexibility of the four-shaft shredder, we can also shred other optical storage media such as SD cards, Blu-Rays, and USB sticks. Its compact construction further enables us to bring the shredder to you to perform the job on-site.
Shredding the drives
In short, we remove hard drives from the device (computer, laptop, server) and place them in the shredder. This subsequently renders them completely destroyed and the data completely unrecoverable. We then recycle the debris.
When should it be performed?
The short answer:
Hard drive shredding is the ideal option for highly secure or sensitive data with compliance related to finance, national security, and HIPAA.
It’s also a good fit for those who would like to witness the destruction being performed in real time. Witnessed destruction provides extra reassurance that everything is done by the book. In the case of GER, our military-trained and classified-asset-destruction team is on-site to protect your brand name and sensitive data every step of the way. Additionally, our secure chain of custody includes a fully auditable paper trail, end-to-end visibility, and a Certificate of Destruction.
If, on the other hand, you’re under no such regulatory constraints, you are better off pursuing other methods that let you recoup value (see more on this below).
Data breaches
If your business ignores regulations to pursue hard drive destruction, you do more than risk steep fines for noncompliance. A study by the National Association of Information Destruction (it has since merged with another trade group to become the International Secure Information Governance & Management Association, i-SIGMA) showed more than 40% of used electronic devices sold in secondary markets contained personally identifiable information and protected health information.
Even more concerning, the process used to retrieve the data required no advanced forensic training. The researchers easily uncovered usernames, passwords, credit card data, tax details, and contact information on used hard drives, mobile phones, and tablets.
Only option
However, a professional, R2-certified electronic recycler that wipes to NIST 800-88 will eliminate any risk of the above and achieve absolute data destruction. But, again, for your most highly sensitive data, some state and federal regulations will give you no choice but to select hard drive shredding.
How do I know the job was done right?
Don’t leave without a Certificate of Destruction (COD). A tamper-proof certificate is your final verification of absolute data destruction in compliance with NIST 800-88.
At GER, we authenticate data destruction through the issuance of data destruction reports and certificates, including a Certificate of Destruction. The certificate includes information on the shredding process, serial numbers of shredded drives, data and time of the job, and the name of the team member who performed the service.
Are there other methods?
When it comes to data destruction — yes, there are other methods. But there’s nuance to this answer. As we wrote in the previous paragraphs, state and federal regulations may limit your options.
Let’s take a look at two more data destruction methods:
Degaussing
In some cases, regulations may call for degaussing. Degaussing is a form of physical destruction. And just like hard drive shredding, it leaves the drive unfit for resale and should be a last resort.
Degaussing renders data unrecoverable by using a highly powerful magnetic field to permanently remove magnetic properties from the iron oxide or chromium dioxide coatings. Once the method has erased the recorded data pattern, we dismantle the hard drive and recycle its components. Degaussing is, for some companies, the only way to satisfy a federal requirement related to the destruction of clearance-level information (“Classified” or “Top Secret”).
Data Erasure/Wiping
For companies that seek to recoup value in secondary markets, this is the method of choice. Since it involves no physical destruction, the sanitized equipment safely enters resale platforms in good condition. In addition to increasing resale value, data erasure/wiping also generates no e waste. With increased focus on sustainability and reducing carbon footprints, you can leverage this method to raise your green profile.
Unless regulations demand that you choose another method, we often recommend data wiping for this reason.
Please reach out with any questions
Do you have more questions about hard drive shredding or any other services related to electronic recycling? We’re here to help. Contact us today.
When it’s time to recycle computers, a few key decisions can make a big difference for value recovery, data protection, and more.
The number of PCs shipped in 2020 is truly staggering: 275 million. In the United States, 21.5 million units shipped in the third quarter of this year alone. Many of these units will take the place of older models. And that’s where we come in.
When your business needs to recycle computers, you need a responsible, reputable, and certified electronics recycler to get the job done right.
As the current year is winding down, you may be one of many businesses assessing practices, including how you recycle computers and other electronic data-storing devices.
Is your current computer recycling partner a good fit? Is the service prompt and reliable? Could you get a better return on retired electronic assets? Are you planning a computer refresh in the coming year that will demand a comprehensive recycling strategy for obsolete units?
The do’s and don’ts of computer recycling
Before we get any further, let’s take a look at what you should not do when recycling computers:
Do it yourself: The decommissioning of computer equipment is not a job for a novice. In such a strictly regulated environment as electronics recycling, haphazard handling of data and careless disposition of toxic materials leaves your organizations vulnerable to fines and reputation-shattering events.
Handle assets carelessly: Broken screens, damaged cases, etc., significantly reduce value in resale markets.
Hire a non-certified partner: It leaves your company vulnerable to data theft, inappropriate disposal, regulatory fines, and more.
Opt for degaussing hard drives: Unless required by regulation, this common practice ruins the hard drive and makes it impossible to refurbish and resell.
Go for the lowest quote: There’s no getting around the fact recycling costs tend to correlate with the rigorousness of asset disposition
Assume an in-house factory reset removes all sensitive data: Only certified data destruction can adequately make all data irrecoverable.
Now, let’s move on to what you should do. If you’re searching for an electronics recycling partner to recycle computers, keep the following in mind.
Look beyond cost and location
A convenient location and affordable quotes; it may seem like the ideal combination. The truth is, however, there are more important variables to take into account when selecting a partner to dispose of your obsolete electronics. A quote that comes in way below those of other contenders is more likely a warning sign that something is amiss.
Like we said above, recycling costs tend to correlate with the rigorousness of asset disposition — and data cleansing in particular. Although it certainly does not mean the highest quote automatically equals superior service, it is wise to beware of surprisingly low estimates. Another wise move: Don’t let location alone make the decision for you. You end up running the risk of working with someone who does not live up to far more important criteria.
Ensure the company is certified and follows industry best practices
Saying is not the same as doing. An electronics recycler that can offer no more than a promise should never make the cut. You need actual verification to back up any claims. In the realm of electronics recycling, the main certification to look for is R2, the industry standard for responsible electronics recycling (we recently published a post on this topic here.)
As far as data destruction goes, NIST 800-88 ensures your partner fully complies with the leading standard for data erasure. In other words, it enforces a process that renders access to target data on the media infeasible for a given level of effort.
Recycle computers with care
The job to maximize value recovery begins before the assets leave your facility. To put it differently, it means the way you store, handle, package, and prepare the assets for shipping could all impact resale value down the line. For instance, we routinely help our clients with the important job of getting packaging right. (For more info, watch this video on best practices on electronics recycling).
This brings us back to another piece of advice that we consistently share about the practice of degaussing hard drives. Some companies prefer to do this on-site before sending assets for recycling. The urge to be cautious is understandable. But you’re better off letting your certified electronics recycler assess regulations to determine whether degaussing is necessary.
If you’re not restricted by a federal requirement for degaussing clearance-level information, opt for other methods. Your recycler can deliberately, permanently, and irreversibly destroy the data stored on a memory device — while leaving them in good condition for resale and optimized IT asset recovery.
Final word
Can we help you kick off 2022 with a new, better electronics recycling strategy? Whether you need to recycle computers, revise your entire approach to e waste recycling, or want to know how you can turn obsolete IT assets into a sustainability advantage, let’s talk. Corporate electronic recycling shouldn’t be a hassle.
To safeguard client data and your business reputation, know this key data destruction standard.
What data destruction method is right for your business? To answer that question, you need to understand what the most important data destruction standard entails.
Small adjustments to your asset disposition management can have a big impact
It doesn’t take much to safeguard your retired IT assets. Yet, mistakes happen. Whether they stem from a lack of knowledge of proper IT asset disposition management or a “let’s-hope-for-the-best” approach, missteps can be costly.
Demand for laptops is huge. Resale markets can help you make the most out of laptop recycling.
One of your biggest company woes can, if you take the right steps, turn into a potential revenue stream. Among all your end-of-life electronic equipment, you may not be aware that one piece, in particular, is in especially high demand in secondary markets — laptops. It can, in other words, pay to make sure you get laptop recycling right.
Morgan Stanley did not prioritize R2 recycling — and it ended in disaster. In this video, GER President Kristina Picciotti weighs in on the importance of working with the right electronics recycler.
Nothing underscores the importance of R2 recycling than the recent Morgan Stanley data breach. The multinational financial services company and investment bank terminated a contract with its trusted ITAD partner in favor of a company with no experience in the business of sanitizing end-of-life IT assets.
Do your hard drives really need degaussing? For the sake of IT asset recovery, other methods could yield better returns.
Degaussing is a common practice to destroy discarded hard drives on-site. The urge to be cautious is understandable. But, the process renders the drives unusable and, consequently, bad for recouping value in secondary markets. If increasing IT asset recovery is the goal, entrust the task of data sanitization to your electronics recycler.
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