Electronic donations
In the spirit of generosity, kind-hearted individuals often donate their computers to organizations aiming to refurbish and distribute them to those in need. Yet, a sad reality shadows electronic donations, burdening many charities with computers they neither want nor need. This firsthand insight comes from our experiences of regularly collecting electronic contributions from charitable organizations. Unfortunately, more than 90% of these donations find their way to foreign countries, where unsafe practices involving the stripping and burning of electronics for scrap metals by both children and adults unfold in hazardous environments. The aftermath sees plastic, glass, and other low-value materials contaminating rivers and soils.
The Basel Action Network
The Basel Action Network (BAN) deploys GPS trackers to trace the journey of used electronics, revealing that numerous companies ship scrap printers and LCD monitors to Asia.* While not a groundbreaking revelation, it underscores an ongoing issue with refurbishing and dumping scams resurfacing every year or so.
If concerns for foreign countries and the environment fail to resonate, consider the implications for your data. Even with assurances of hard drive wiping, the reality is that proper wiping takes an average of seven hours. Having been involved in hard drive wiping, I comprehend this process’s time-consuming and cost-prohibitive nature, leading some companies with questionable integrity to bypass thorough erasure.
Used hard drives sold online
In January 2016, reports indicated that over 40% of used hard drives sold online still contained data. A troubling incident shared by a business associate involved a local computer repair shop replacing her irreparable hard drive with a used one with all the previous user’s pictures, web history, and passwords. Is there a better reason to prioritize proper recycling and data destruction for your computers?
We shred all hard drives
At Ecycle Atlanta, we’ve undergone a significant shift. We ceased wiping and initiated shredding for all hard drives collected from our customers. Despite the potential for reduced profits from the scrap metal compared to wiping and selling, our commitment to our customers’ trust remains unwavering. Nothing identifiable or linked to them leaves our warehouse.
At Ecycle Atlanta, our passion for our work, dedication to ethical practices, and commitment to ensuring the positive outcomes of our initiatives extend well beyond the immediate recipients of our refurbished electronics drive our mission.