chicagoshredder-blog

[chicagoshredder-blog]

Data destruction

Not long ago, CBS'"60 Minutes" program broadcast a story on e-waste and global dumping. The reporters followed a trail of electronic recycling items from a Denver-based company all the way to Hong Kong, China and caught the so-called "recycling" company red-handed participating in global e-waste dumping.

With over 80% of recycled electronics and computers finding yourself as high-tech e-waste in developing countries such as for instance China, India, and Africa, we must intensify as responsible citizens of the planet and choose computer and electronics recycling companies very carefully. We should support only those electronics recycling companies that are running both a socially and an environmentally sound operation, end-to-end. To know how global dumping occurs, it helps to first understand the business model for https://chicagoshredder.com/.

To sustain as a small business, electronic recyclers must generate enough revenues from all its recycling and reuse services and the reclamation of precious metals and other recycling materials, minus operating costs and the price of de-manufacturing those things that yield no value (yet harm the environment).

The difference between an environmentally responsible computer and electronics recycling company and an irresponsible it's possible to be broken down as follows: a) the way they generate reuse revenues; b) how they reclaim precious metals and recycling materials; c) how they manage the de-manufacturing process of low-value, toxic elements.

Think about the precious metal reclamation process for a moment. A responsible company will have to spend money on having a secure working environment with proper protective gear for this workers and proper waste treatment procedures to prevent environmental contamination. Furthermore, a responsible electronics recycling company will operate using specialized de-manufacturing equipment that protects the workers from the harmful materials or dust that escapes throughout the de-manufacturing process.

An irresponsible recycling company avoids any investment in the de-manufacturing area. In reality, irresponsible recycling companies never lay eyes on the workers who eventually break apart the leftover electronic parts. As seen in the "60 Minutes" program, those workers are normally low-paid laborers from remote villages, who use bare hands and primitive tools such as for instance chisels and hammers to pry the precious materials from the discarded items. The ultimate discarded parts are then dumped anywhere - in rivers or streams or burned in a swamp - causing major public health issues.

The most hazardous materials present in e-waste aren't the reclaimed precious metals, but the low-value, toxic materials such as for instance Mercury present in switches and flat screens and the brominated flame retardants applied to printed circuit boards, cables and plastic casings. These are the materials that want major investment in the de-manufacturing process. In summary, the price to use a secure operating de-manufacturing facility makes responsible electronic recycling much more difficult compared to the much used alternate: https://chicagoshredder.com/.

Yielding to the bigger reclaim prices provided by the irresponsible global dumpers, many so-called recycling collectors send their materials to irresponsible recyclers, who subsequently "sell" the recycling cargo to exporters. Several handshakes later and the e-waste cargo arrives at the ports of the global village's poorest countries. Considering that the U.S. prohibits dumping of electronic waste in other countries, a lot of the e-waste cargo is shipped under the label "Used Equipment," whereas actually a lot of the recycled electronic waste is either too old or too out-of-order to have any reuse value.