Safe Disposal Of Irreparable IT Equipment
Most businesses nowadays depend heavily on IT equipment for their day-to-day operation. After all, many shops nowadays have an online outlet, so they need computers and servers. Brick-and-mortar shops require point-of-sale computers, barcode scanners, cash registers, printers, photocopiers, fax machines, desktop computers, and other types of IT equipment. Learning institutions, company offices, research facilities, hospitals, and police stations also require ICT equipment. it equipment recycling is important in the electronic waste management industry. This is because IT equipment usually contains different types of materials, some of which may be harmful. Therefore, proper handling is required.
More information on it equipment recycling
What happens when you take your IT Assests to a Computer Repair Shop
When faulty ICT equipment is brought to a repair shop, the technicians will carry out numerous diagnostic tests to identify the root cause of the problem. Once the problem has been identified, the technicians will recommend the right course of action as far as repairs are concerned. If a piece of equipment is damaged beyond repair, the technicians will recommend disposal. If the cost of repairs exceeds the cost of buying new equipment, the disposal may also be recommended. It does not make economic sense to repair an old piece of equipment because it has already become obsolete. The following are steps that are usually followed when recycling ICT equipment:
Sorting Parts
As noted earlier, computers, printers, fax machines, photocopiers, server racks, computer servers, network switches, routers, and other types of ICT equipment are made of different types of materials. This includes plastics, glass, metal, semiconductors, and rubber among other compounds. Therefore, sorting is crucial. For instance, uninterruptible power supply systems have batteries containing either Lithium-ion, Nickel-Cadmium, or lead-acid components. Computer screens contain glass while the housing of most of these pieces of equipment are made of either metal or plastic. The first step, therefore, is sorting. All the different components will be detached from the equipment and sorted accordingly. For instance, all hard drives, USB drives, and storage media will be put in one place for proper disposal. This is to ensure sensitive data does not get into the wrong hands. Motherboards will be put in one place while glass, plastics, and metallic parts will be set aside.
Crushing Components
The next step is crushing. All the ICT equipment will be crushed into small bits and sorted further. Plastics and metals will be separated for recycling. Once the plastic bits are sorted, they are sent to a plastic recycling plant. The same applies to metallic parts. Iron, copper, and aluminum will be sorted and sent to metal recycling plants. Most waste management companies have invested in plastic and metal recycling plants, so they can produce recycled plastic and metal either for their consumption or to sell to manufacturers of plastic and metal products.
hard drive destruction
When businesses, consumers, and organisations hand over their defective ICT equipment for destruction, they expect that the process will be done efficiently and safely. Nobody wants their information to end up in the wrong hands. After deleting the hard drives, the recycling company will crush and shred the hard drive before burying the resulting waste in a landfill.