New year, new computer? If that’s the case, chances are the old one is sitting around in a closet. One report we read indicated that nearly 75 percent of old electronics continue to be stored in households because of the unavailability of convenient recycling options. Then there’s the issue of old electronics laying around offices. If you are in an office with a bunch of coworkers, your old machine is probably in a pile with its former “colleagues.”
E-waste is growing. Not sure why this is a big deal? There are a number of reasons:
- he components are not landfill-safe. They contain toxic substances such as lead and mercury, which should not be released into the environment. We care about that sort of thing and assume you do, too.
- Retired computers and servers typically contain a lot of confidential and private information (saved passwords, internet history and files). If they lay around, there is an identity theft risk.
- Electronic waste is a rich source of raw materials – precious metal. The United Nations estimates it to be between 40 and 50 times richer than the ores we mine from the earth.
e are fanatics about security in every way. If you’re a customer of ours or follow our posts on LinkedIn or Facebook, you probably know that Paper Tiger Document Solutions also accepts electronics for recycling, free of charge, at our warehouse. This includes mobile phones that once contained sensitive data, computers, and more. And before we shred any electronic item with a hard drive, we first erase all the files. Click here for a full list of the electronics we accept for recycling.
If you opt to recycle your old electronics at a community recycling center, please first remove and destroy the hard drives in the equipment. It’s for your own security.
Paper Tiger Document Solutions has been an NAID AAA Certified member since 2013. We handle residential and commercial shredding throughout the Chicago area and northeastern Wisconsin.
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