How to safely dispose of your electronics?

Recycling Technology

Like every other thing, your technology gadgets also have an end. Your old VCR may be lying somewhere in a dusty corner of your house, or your old smartphones must probably be in the junk cabinets. So what should be done with these non-functional, unwanted, obsolete, or faulty gadgets?

This is the next significant concern that many e-consumers may think about dealing with all these electronic clutters. You also may be the one finding solution to disposing of these old pieces of products. Recycling technology is something that comes to the rescue.

“Recycling technology is a process of recovering your valuable parts, metals, or working components from old electronic devices and converting it into a new product- saving a lot on price and resources.”

Is recycling technology beneficial?

Yes, with rapid technological advancement, tech appliances have made consumer life easier and more convenient. As most people are buying these products, being helpful, they are seldom built to last. This is why there is a rapid growth in e-waste proportion worldwide.

According to a Global E-waste Monitor 2020, 53.6 million tons of electronic waste were recorded worldwide in 2019, of which only 9.3 million (17%) of e-waste is being collected and recycled. This figure increased by 21 percent in just five years, making e-waste the world’s fastest-growing domestic waste stream.

• For every million laptops that go for recycling, we could save energy equivalent to the electricity used by more than 3,500 homes in a year.
• For every million cell phones recycled, we can recover 33lb (14.96 kg)of palladium, 35,274lb (16000kg) of copper, and 772lb (350.17 kg) of silver, and 75lb (34.01 kg) of gold.
• Per weight, recycled circuit boards have more valuable material than mining for ore. These boards have 40 to 800 times more gold and 30 to 40 times more copper than ore.

To tackle this growing concern, many tech recycling companies have initiated steps to curb the pace of the e-waste stream generated worldwide. Material recovery and safe recycling technology become crucial steps for protecting economic value and human health.

How recycling technology helps e-consumers?

• Reclamation of working components: Tech recycling enables e-consumers to get rid of the clutters of old electronics and make the best use of working parts efficiently.
• Potential to reduce environmental pollution: When e-waste comes in contact with heat, the toxic content is released into the atmosphere, creating irreversible damage to the ecosystem. This may affect both land and sea creatures. Health problems like cancer, allergies, bone, kidney damage, or other physical consequences may also arise with electronic disposal. With tech recycling, you minimize the impact of environmental hazards created otherwise.
• Reduce energy consumption: processing raw materials into useable resources takes a lot of energy. Recycling requires less time for products to be converted into a usable form, thus consuming less energy.

How to get my electronic equipment be safely recycled? Some checklist before you go.

DO YOU KNOW? Suppose we recycle our small old electronics that are otherwise hoarded or thrown away in the trash. In that case, we can save 2.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the road.

Sound interesting? Then why do the world statistics show a growing trend in e-waste proportion? Why don’t consumers prefer recycling technology?

The answer lies in fact – Data theft and Privacy is the key reason why many e-consumers get into holding on to their old gadgets. Personal laptops or computers are all packed up with life-related information like pictures, numbers, and memories of family, friends, and relatives. Thinking about recycling old tech products feels so challenging and risky.

To recycle your tech products, and keep all the sensitive information secure, don’t forget to checklist the following points.

Back up data

Back up your data to refrain anyone from accessing your private data in the future, make sure to delete them permanently.

1. One of the safest options is to transfer your data to your new computer or device using a USB connection or Wi-Fi facility.
2. The second backup option is using external hard drives or flash drives. Copy all the relevant files to the hard drive, and you are all good to go.
3. The other effective backup option could be saving your folders on cloud storage. It is limited in space but saves small files.

Run your device through the reset option

Once successfully transferring data to a reliable source, run your device through a factory reset. Factory reset is a step of removing user data from the e-device. Booting up your operating system several times will end up in a default state as when you first turned it on. Factory reset differs with the types of computers being used.

Isolate the hard drive and other useful hardware if possible

To secure your data in the best place, consider separating the hard drive from the computer. Nowadays, the best SSDs, despite fast storage, the data saved on them can easily be retrieved. Make sure that while you format the drive, go through the process of overwriting multiple times.

Use a disk-erasing program

Going for a last line of defense, run your computer through a disk-wiping program- it will erase all the data traces from the disc. Although the process takes a lot of time, premium disk-wiping programs will ensure nothing is left behind.

Where to dispose of your electronics safely?

If you don’t know where to send your obsolete, unwanted electronics or IT assets, contact Pro IT Recyclers for the cleanest and most responsible standards of e-waste management.

Saving money out on your old electronics can be a great win-win situation. One person’s junk can turn into another person’s treasure is what makes e-waste recycling an appealing option.