Experts project information technology (IT) spending this 2022 to total $4.45 trillion. Of that amount, $813.69 billion would go toward IT equipment and devices.
Those figures suggest the immense amount of IT hardware currently in circulation. Thus, if you plan to upgrade your IT equipment this year, it’s vital to know how to dispose of your existing ones.
This guide lists the best IT industry practices for proper equipment disposal, so read on.
Table of Contents
Create Backups
The Internal Revenue Service recommends keeping records for three to seven years. These include income tax returns and income documents. However, the IRS notes that creditors and insurers may require longer record-keeping.
Your IT equipment, in turn, may be housing those vital tax and income-related records. Also, don’t forget that old computer equipment may contain client or supplier documents. That’s a good enough reason to create backups of all essential files you have in your IT tech.
Perform Data Erasure
In the first half of 2021 alone, there were 1,767 publicly reported data breaches. They resulted in the exposure of an estimated 18.8 billion records.
You can be at risk of such crimes if you dispose of IT equipment without erasing its contents.
Data erasure destroys data stored in the storage media of your IT equipment. It involves overwriting the drive’s actual contents. That then makes it impossible to retrieve and recover the original data.
That makes data erasure different from data deletion. One reason is that the latter only removes data files from a directory. The information that the files contain remains somewhere in the storage medium.
Thus, it’s imperative to use data erasure software before disposing of IT equipment. Certus, CCleaner, and ShredIT are some examples of such programs.
Remove Old Batteries
Battery-operated types of computers use nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride, or lithium-ion batteries. If allowed to degrade in the environment, their contents can cause harm.
After all, cadmium, nickel, and lithium are all forms of toxic heavy metals. They can cause adverse health effects and endanger the environment.
So, ensure you remove the batteries of old IT equipment before their disposal. Next, use electrical tape to cover their terminals. You can then put them in separate dry containers before having a battery recycler pick them up.
Donate or Recycle Old IT Equipment
Consider donating old IT equipment and company computers to disadvantaged populations. Your local community centers can help connect you to potential recipients. Moreover, they may help you locate reputable non-profit organizations that accept electronics.
Just make sure the devices you’re about to donate are still working and usable for at least one year.
As for legacy technology, it’s best to bring them to a certified recycling facility. They can help ensure your hardware doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. In addition, they can help prevent your old electronics from ending up in landfills.
Always Dispose of IT Equipment Properly
And there you have it, your ultimate guide on how to dispose of IT equipment responsibly. The first crucial step is to back their data up before erasing all their contents. You can then either donate or recycle the hardware after that.
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