E-waste recycling key to managing and unlocking value
Organisations should adopt responsible e-waste disposal strategies, as only 25% of end-of-life information technology (IT) equipment worldwide is being recycled and the value of e-waste is about $62.5-billion a year, says IT equipment disposal and refurbishment company Xperien IT asset disposal expert Bridgette Vermaak on June 5.
"Obsolete equipment can be used to responsibly harvest rare earth elements, precious metals and other natural resources for use in other electronics. According to the World Economic Forum and the United Nations E-waste Coalition, there is more gold in a ton of mobile phones than there is in a ton of gold-bearing ore," she points out.
By 2050, the amount of e-waste is expected to more than double to 120-million tonnes a year, if nothing is done to address this problem.
"Data erasure could be the answer, but only if responsible e-waste disposal is implemented. Organisations need to be specific about how IT hardware is processed when it reaches the end of its life cycle; from mobile phones, to servers and flash drives," says Vermaak.
Many companies dispose of decommissioned hardware by shredding it to ensure stored data is irretrievable. This is done largely to comply with data protection mandates such as the local Protection of Personal Information Act and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation.
Shredding is also mostly used owing to a lack of understanding of other alternatives and a lack of understanding about the environmental impact of physical destruction, explains Vermaak.
Whether organisations choose ongoing use or asset disposal, it is critical to ensure data is erased properly so that data security and privacy is never compromised. Complete and verifiable data erasure complies with data protection and privacy regulations and ensures that company data is never exposed to unauthorised users.
"Data erasure provides a secure and more eco-friendly solution than physically destroying equipment or informal recycling. Erasing and then reallocating devices within the company maximises value from IT purchases. Organisations can even sell out-of-use hardware into the circular economy; older electronics can be erased, refurbished and reused without carrying forward any residual data. They can be sold, reused internally or donated to charities," she says.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation