Computer Recycling Philadelphia
Computer Recycling in Philadelphia, Delaware, and New Jersey. When your computers have reached the end of their useful life, or you’ve upgraded to the latest technology, your old computers need to be recycled (and whatever data remains on them destroyed). We handle the entire process from pick up to final disposal. We make sure NONE of your old machines end up in a landfill in the United States, or somewhere overseas (or worse, in the ocean).
Simply throwing away outdated computers, laptops, and other electronics can lead to someone obtaining your data. When you work with us, you can enjoy peace of mind knowing that your data will not be compromised, and when we perform computer recycling philadelphia, no materials that are harmful to the environment will ever end up in landfill.
Our Computer and Electronics Recycling Process is state of the art, certified, and secure. We meet the highest standards of the U.S. Government, are R2 Certified (we hold multiple certifications) and a member of NAID.
Protecting Your Data – Data Destruction During Computer Recycling
You might be surprised by all of the places you can find stored data, and how hard it can be to destroy. Desktop printers can store data. Micro-memory cards can hold many Gigabytes of data on them. Phones, thumb drives, old tablets, and laptops can hold a huge amount of data, and that data can be recovered and used for criminal purposes.
At Life Cycle Solutions, we know exactly where to check for hidden data, and how to destroy it so it can never be recovered. We make certain there is nothing left to find on your old computers and electronics. After we perform our inspection, and data destruction, we send it back to our lab to test it again anyway. We take data destruction and computer recycling seriously, and you should too.
Environmental Considerations – Where Did Your Computers and Electronics End Up?
Electronics recycling and computer recycling separates computer components into all of its constituent pieces, and many of those pieces are harmful to the environment. When we perform computer recycling and electronics recycling, none of those components will end up in a landfill – or in an overseas landfill – or at an overseas “chop shop” – or worse, in the ocean.
Believe it or not, these things can happen and they do happen every day around the world. But if you work with us, you can rest easy knowing that we verify ALL of our downstream vendors. We know precisely where your materials end up. We verify it because we care a great deal about the environment and we know our customers do too.
But beyond just caring about the environment – your e waste, it is your company’s responsibility. You have to make certain it is disposed of properly. The last thing you want is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showing up at your office to investigate your company because they found your electronic components disposed of improperly. The fines and the cost of environmental remediation can be astronomical. Where your e waste ends up matters.
Computer Recycling – Secure Transport – Secure Chain of Custody – Secure Data Destruction – Environmentally Friendly Disposal
Our crews will collect, label, and seal all storage media in locked boxes and transport them to our secured facility. Chain of Custody is tightly controlled. To learn more about our process – visit Our Processes Page
Once inside our secure facility, every step of the process is documented and verified. Every piece of equipment is tested and verified for proper data destruction and then tested again. Data destruction certificates and reports are available upon request. And lastly – your e waste is disposed of properly to protect the environment from the hazardous materials left over from e waste recycling.
Why Computer Recycling Matters
E waste is a problem that most people and businesses did not anticipate. There is an ever-increasing appetite for new electronics, faster electronics, and better electronics. The pace at which computers, smart phones, digital devices like cameras (remember digital cameras?), and portable storage become obsolete, is unbelievable.
And all of these electronics, computers, laptops, iPhones, digital cameras, monitors, screens, televisions, tablets, printers, etc, all have to go somewhere when they have reached the end of their useful life (which in today’s world can easily happen in less than twelve months).
Along with this craving for computers and electronics and technology advancement has come bigger, better, and tinier data storage vehicles. Not so long ago, having 250 megs of storage on a thumb drive was incredible. Now those same thumb drives can store Gigabytes of sensitive information. Some mini-SSD chips must be ground up to pieces smaller than two millimeters to guarantee data cannot be recovered. Printers can store data. CD’s get left in CD/DVD drives when big offices switch computers and have to throw away the old ones.
By 2016, almost every person in the United States owned a phone – and – every second person also owned a tablet computer. Close to 25% also owned an e-book reader (Chart 3.2). Between 2012 and 2015, the number of Americans who owned a smartphone, AND a computer, AND a tablet doubled to 36% of adults (Anderson 2015).
Have you ever stopped to think about where all of these devices end up? Prior to reputable electronics recycling practices, computers (with hard drives intact) could be shipped overseas to “chop shops” and sensitive data could be easily compromised. And the left-over parts? Those were often thrown in mass landfills overseas or were sometimes thrown directly into the ocean where heavy metals like mercury and chemicals will pollute the water and the food supply.
And then there is the environmental impact. All of these electronics contain within them metals and chemicals that are terrible for the environment and if dumped in a landfill, can eventually find their way into the water supply.
This is also why Life Cycle Solutions is R2 Certified, and a member of NAID – because we believe in what these associations are doing, and we know there must be standards developed, maintained, and verified for computer and electronics recycling. Otherwise, people just tend to “do whatever.” This way of thinking is unacceptable for your companies data security, and unacceptable for the environment.
Are you wondering what to do with your old electronics? America’s growing use of electronics has created a new environmental challenge: electronic waste, or e-waste.
What is Considered E-waste? And Requires Computer Recycling?
The following are all considered e waste:
- Audio and Stereo Equipment
- Cellular Phones
- Computers and Computer Peripherals
- Telephones, Fax and Copying Machines
- Televisions and Monitors
- VCRs and DVD Players
- Video Cameras
- Video Game Consoles
- Wireless Devices
- Desktop Printers
- Copy Machines
- Portable Hard Drives
- Thumb Drives
- DVD’s and CD’s
- Digital Cameras
Is E Waste That Big Of a Deal? – Yes, it is.
- By 2016, the world generated 44.7 million metric tons (Mt) of e-waste, which is roughly equivalent to 4,500 Eifel Towers, and only about 20% was recycled through appropriate channels according to the Global E-waste Monitor Report from the United Nations.
- Electronic equipment contains toxic materials like lead, mercury, cadmium, and many of these toxic materials will end up in the water supply (if dumped) or in the air (if burned)
- Old electronics (E waste are the fastest growing source of waste in the U.S. By 2016 over three billion electronic devices will need recycling, which is an average of close to 400 million units per year according to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition.
- It is a HUGE waste of resources. The total value of all raw materials present in e-waste is estimated to be approximately 55 Billion Euros (in 2016), which is more than the 2016 Gross Domestic Product of most countries in the world.
How Can I Avoid Contributing to The E-waste Problem?
Choose a Responsible Recycler – Look for the R2 Certification On Their Website.
The Environmental Protection Agency offers two accredited certification standards for electronics recycling: R2 – the Responsible Recycling Practices (R2) and the e-Stewards® standards. If a company has the R2 Certification, they will proudly display it on their website (like we do).
The e-Steward Certification program is an amazing program that helps guarantee e-waste isn’t disposed of in landfills in developing nations. As we’ve mentioned before, for some time, the “cheap” way to dispose of e-waste was to ship it to countries who had less money for oversight (and wherever government corruption flourishes) and dump toxic e-waste in landfills where people are too poor to do anything about it. The e-Steward certification forbids the dumping of toxic e-waste in developing countries, local landfills and incinerators; the use of prison labor; and the unauthorized release of private data. If you want to make sure your recycled electronics don’t end up in another country’s landfills and water supply – look for the e-Steward Certification.
How Can I Be a Responsible Consumer and Help Reduce E-waste?
Buy Green Electronics from Reputable Manufacturers
Some manufacturers are offering TakeBack programs for your old electronics. They will take back and recycle their electronic products for you. TakeBack help manufacturers design products with their final destination in mind. They increase the use of recycled materials and decrease the use of toxic materials they will have to deal with later. You can get access to a list of manufacturers who have take back programs from the Electronics TakeBack Coalition. Just click on “Corporate Responsibility.”
Manufacturer TakeBack Programs and the Electronics Takeback Coalition
Some manufacturers are offering TakeBack programs for your old electronics. They will take back and recycle their electronic products for you. TakeBack help manufacturers design products with their final destination in mind. They increase the use of recycled materials and decrease the use of toxic materials they will have to deal with later. You can get access to a list of manufacturers who have take back programs from the Electronics TakeBack Coalition. Just click on “Corporate Responsibility.”
