Professional e-waste recycling ensures that unused or broken electronics you don’t need don’t end up costing you money and public trust. Data destruction is important when it comes to ensuring that the information you collect doesn’t end up in the wrong hands, that’s why you should partner with ERI.
Seven Industries Where ITAD and e-Recycling Are a Must
If you’re in one of these industries, an e-waste provider that specializes in ITAD is essential.
Banking/Financial:
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is one of the biggest regulations banks and financial institutions must follow. Others include the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Right to Financial Privacy Act (RFPA) are two others that are important to keep in mind.
As banks often keep SSNs, dates of birth, names, addresses, phone numbers, and bank account information in their files, the security of that SPII is important. Before any equipment leaves a bank, it needs to have data destruction measures in place either on-site or at a secure facility that offers the level of data destruction required.
Education:
All schools, from elementary schools to colleges and universities, store information like SSNs, student records, health records, and contact information. Libraries also store student information.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requires PII to be destroyed when it’s no longer needed for educational reasons. Not only do schools need to destroy the information, but also any third-party vendor, such as a school lunch provider, must also destroy any PII.
In addition to your school needing to ensure that data is destroyed when recycling electronics, you need to make sure third-party vendors do, too. The Department of Education recommends following NIST 800-88 guidelines for data destruction.
Government:
Of all sectors, the U.S. government holds a lot of sensitive information on its residents. From birth records to taxes, the government stores a lot, and data must be destroyed properly when an electronic device is no longer needed.
The level of data destruction depends on the agency. Classified information, such as military and Department of Defense records, require a higher level of security and a more advanced data destruction standard.
Healthcare:
HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It’s an important guideline to follow when it comes to patient data. Medical reports can be held for 10 years from the last time they were used or when they were created, whichever is later. State laws take precedence over HIPAA.
If protected health information is breached in something like a lost external hard drive, improperly disposed of electronics, or theft, HIPAA dictates how patients are to be notified. If you choose an electronics recycler who follows NIST standards, you’re unlikely to face fines or penalties for a breach.
Manufacturing:
Any manufacturing facility needs to be careful about recycling electronics. Trade secrets are just some of the information that could leak out. Client names, credit card information, and purchasing contracts are all items that could be stored on hard drives. All of this needs to be kept confidential.
Retail:
Stores often keep customer names, addresses, emails, credit card information, and phone numbers. The Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) and state laws cover data privacy. For retailers with their own store cards, the credit card application information is also valuable and must be protected. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) protects consumer credit information.
This PII is valuable to hackers and cyber thieves. As tablets, computers, and registers are disposed of, the data must be destroyed before it ends up in someone else’s hands. If you’re in this industry, bringing old computers and equipment to a local recycling facility isn’t good enough. Area laws often dictate what you can store and make it a requirement that keep that PII safe.
Technology:
Data centers are a leading branch of the technology sector. Cloud-based data centers are one of the most popular options for data storage, and they’re vulnerable to cyber security events. When a data center upgrades equipment or shuts down, the utmost care must be taken to ensure that equipment is wiped of data and recycled properly.
Additional Benefits of Professional E-Waste Recycling
The legalities of protecting PII and SPII are just a small part of why professional e-waste recycling is important. It makes your business look good to potential customers, clients, or patients.
When you partner with a responsible recycler, you’re taking an important step to protecting the environment. You’re not sending your e-waste to a landfill where the metals can leach into the groundwater and soil over time. It’s not going overseas to an impoverished country with a lack of recycling standards.
Recycling helps return valuable resources to the supply chain. Instead of needing to mine for more copper ore, it’s melted down and reused in new electronics. This also helps protect the environment from the damage and pollution caused by mining.
Recycling supports a circular economy. Old products are broken down, processed, and turned into new items. This keeps items from returning to a landfill and makes you more appealing to eco-friendly consumers.
It also bolsters your reputation. If you think of the past year, have breaches affected your opinion of any companies? Loss of trust can be costly.
One grocery store chain had a shutdown lasting more than a week after an undisclosed breach led to their online ordering and mobile app being unavailable. Customers became frustrated by the lack of information and loss of online shopping and switched to other stores. That could be you if you don’t pay close attention to data destruction as part of an e-recycling process.
The Importance of Choosing the Best E-Waste Recycling Provider for Your Business
ITAD and e-recycling providers are not all the same. It’s important to choose the best match for your business needs. Because security is essential in today’s world, you need to make sure you’re choosing a specialist in data destruction. You also want someone who provides either a Certificate of Data Destruction or a Certificate of Data Sanitization when the recycling process is complete.
When you don’t follow proper guidelines, you risk fines from the government, class action lawsuits, and a loss of consumer trust. Your company could end up bankrupt or shut down due to negligence. Don’t make that mistake.
Before you send your electronic items like copiers, printers, and computers to a recycling facility, make sure you’ve researched the following.
- Availability to have data destroyed at your business
- Certifications (eStewards, NAID AAA, and R2 are just a start)
- Ease of reaching support
- Facility security
- Real-time tracking
ERI is the nation’s leading ITAD and e-recycle. We offer a variety of levels to ensure your electronics are recycled in accordance with the laws your industry must adhere to. Contact us today and let us know whether you need on-site data destruction or secure shipping to our secure facility.