Recycling electronic devices, including computers and gadgets, is a critical need of the time. As technology becomes more embedded in our daily lives, the number of devices we retire also increases. These devices must be recycled properly to save resources and avoid the negative consequences of improper disposal.
IT disposal has now become a priority for UK businesses. They understand that it is crucial for the brand’s reputation and to avoid GDPR fines and data leaks. In such discussions, terms like IT recycling and secure IT disposal are often used interchangeably, although they represent distinctly different concepts.
It is essential for businesses to understand the differences between them.
The main objective of this article is to ensure that businesses understand the difference between IT recycling and secure IT disposal. The article aims to help them figure out which service they need according to their organisation’s current situation.
What is Regular IT Recycling?
The process has stages of collection, sorting, materials recovery, and reuse.
Discarded electronics and computers are recycled for sustainability purposes. The environment is terribly harmed when we dispose of gadgets in an improper way. In some countries, they are dumped in landfills. Somewhere, burning them to ashes is a common practice. But both destroy the environment and contaminate air, water, and soil.
Computers are composed of many different materials, and some can release toxins when they heat up. So, it is easy to understand why you should not burn the computers and even put them in hotter grounds. Such practices can increase the risks of developing certain health conditions in humans and animals living nearby.
Here are the stages that a typical IT recycling company follows to recycle electronics.
Stage 1: Collection
The recycling company will pick up the equipment from your site at a pre-scheduled time. Their specialised vehicles with proper cages for IT equipment transport the computers from your site to the recycling plant.
Stage 2: Sorting
Once it reaches the facility, experts sort the equipment. Batteries are kept aside, and separate piles of CPUs, mobiles, RAMs, keyboards, and wires are made. This helps keep the recycling process organised.
Stage 3: Materials Recovery
These sorted electronics go through industrial processes to extract materials from them. At the end, you have different piles of gold, palladium, plastics, and other materials.
Stage 4: Reuse
These materials are used in the manufacturing of new products. It is the final goal of IT equipment disposal. To ensure materials from discarded devices are not wasted.
While this process benefits the environment, its key limitation is the lack of focus on data security. There is little or no focus on data security.
What is Secure IT Disposal?
Secure IT disposal is also IT recycling, but it includes controlled destruction or sanitisation of data-bearing assets.
IT recycling focuses on material recovery but does not consider data security.
When a business uses a device for a couple of years, the staff saves a lot of data in the device. A major portion of this data could be confidential, which must be accessible to authorised users and not everyone else. Simple deletion or reformatting is not enough. Experts can still recover the data.
For example, businesses have trade secrets that should not come to competitors’ knowledge to maintain a competitive edge. Also, businesses store their customers’ sensitive data. One breach can destroy the company’s reputation. Customers stop trusting, sales decline, and authorities may impose heavy fines for not destroying the data as per the law.
Methods of Secure IT Disposal
Organisations use various methods for secure data destruction. Hard drives are either physically destroyed, or the data is made unreadable via software-based techniques.
Method 1: Overwriting
Software replaces the existing data with a random set of 0s and 1s. In most cases, one round is enough to make data inaccessible. A high-security medium may need more than one pass to thoroughly destroy all data.
Method 2: Erasing
It is also a form of overwriting. The service provider will destroy all data stored on a hard drive and deliver a certificate of destruction proving successful completion.
Method 3: Cryptographic Erasure
This technique erases or replaces the Media Encryption Key (MEK) of storage media, including drives with hardware encryption like SSDs & Self-Encrypting Drives (SEDs). This way it renders the data in the form of ciphertext, which is illegible. Data is not destroyed; only the encryption key is. So, its efficacy depends on the robustness of the SED’s encryption algorithm.
All these methods are suitable when you want to prolong the lifespan of a storage device. You cannot afford to make it unusable either for economic reasons or to fulfil sustainability goals.
Now we will discuss some methods that make the storage device unusable.
Method 4: Degaussing
This technique makes the electronic medium lose its magnetism with the help of high-powered magnet. It is a quick and effective method. You can easily destroy a large amount of information or sensitive data. But there are two downsides.
- Hard drive becomes permanently inoperable.
- Complete verification of data destruction is expensive.
- It is suitable for hard disk drives (HDD), but not suitable for solid state drives (SSD).
Method 5: Hard Drive Shredding
The device used for this method is called a shredder. It disintegrates the storage media and breaks down the storage media like the drive platter, along with the electronic and mechanical components, into minute pieces, in dimensions as small as 2 mm. Hence, the data stored on the media is destroyed.
Method 6: Pulverizing
An external force is applied to the physical media to elastically deform and crack it into smaller pieces. The method is equally suitable for both HDDs and SSDs. Drives become tiny and finer particles to ensure maximum security.
No matter, what the method is, a good provider will always provide you with certification.
The Hidden Cost of Just Recycling
So, just recycling means little or no information security. With weak information security, you are always vulnerable to data breaches. Moreover, you must comply with data protection laws. In case of violation, your business can be fined by the authorities.
So, the hidden cost of just recycling is the sum of breach cost plus fines imposed by authorities.
GDPR Law
It is the comprehensive law of the European Union for personal data protection. If you process the data of European citizens or residents, you must abide by it. The law came into effect in May 2018. Individuals get control over their data, and organisations have to handle it under a set of rules and regulations.
Individuals must be informed about how their data is processed. Also, they have the right to see their personal data that the business holds. If they want, they can ask the businesses to make changes to that data and even delete it. Organisation must process it legally, fairly, and in a way that the data subject can understand.
UK GDPR Law
UK GDPR is the United Kingdom’s version of the EU’s GDPR, introduced after Brexit. Both frameworks share the same principles, requiring businesses to protect personal data and give individuals control over their information.
The cost of violating GDPR could be €20 million or 4% of global revenue whichever is higher.
Conclusion
A secure IT disposal goes beyond recycling by protecting sensitive data, ensuring compliance, and supporting sustainability. However, businesses should also keep sustainability in mind. The secure IT disposal process should also be as environmentally friendly as possible.
By choosing a certified provider, businesses safeguard their reputation, meet legal obligations, and demonstrate responsibility towards both customers and the environment. Computer IT Disposals offer secure and reliable data destruction services along with certificate. Contact today for effective and secure data deletion.
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