Are you looking for place to read full E-Books without downloading? You can also read and download new and old full E-Books. DOWNLOAD THIS BOOK FOR FREE
There are some interesting recycling statistics related to the growing IT and office equipment recycling problem. When you consider the number of PCs, laptops, faxes and photocopiers throughout the world, they are more than just fascinating recycling statistics - they are alarming wake up calls. In the United States alone, there are more than 250,000,000 people and it is estimated there is a computer for every person in the population between laptops and PCs at home and at the office, yet only a little over 18% of them are recycled properly, according to government statistics.
When you consider the number of computers that will become obsolete in the next five years, the statistics become startling. Because the United States has been tracking these statistics on their large consumer base of electronics, the the Environmental Protection Agency in the US can shed some light on the problem the UK could have been faced with, had the WEEE directives not been adopted. In the US, during 1998, it was estimated 20 million computers became obsolete in one year, but by 2007, that number had more than doubled, according to EPA estimates.
Other interesting recycling statistics that were released by the EPA in the US, show that estimated units in storage included 65.7 million desktop computers, 42.4 million computer monitors, and 2.1 million notebook computers. The good news is recycling initiatives have brought the recycling rate of computer products up to 18% in 2007, with 48.2 million units being recycled, but disposing of 157.3 million units of computer products, the same year.
In the UK, the WEEE Directive that was implemented in 2007 was to be a proactive approach to recycling or refurbishing IT computer and office equipment. There are Environment Agency licensed waste carriers that are able to perform data wiping of the hard drives, provide asset tracking documentation and they are able to salvage the "good" metals, like gold, aluminium, tin and copper, while properly disposing of harmful metals like Lead, Arsenic and Cadmium. Did you know the average computer system might be 6% lead? When you consider there might be one and half to eight pounds of lead in a CRT computer monitor, you can understand the need for proper recycling measures.
For businesses that handle sensitive customer information, proper data destruction is important when you need to get rid of your old computers. Storing old computers can leave this data in a vulnerable state because the hard drives can be stolen. Professionals in data deposition and IT asset disposal will give you a certificate of destruction for your data, whether you have the hard drive shredded or data wiped. This can be an important document to protect your business from liability and keep you from becoming part of the statistics that include stolen customer data or the theft of business trade secrets that come from improper hard drive disposal.
Ensure that you take proper care when disposing of your IT equipment and use a company that is a licensed waste carriers by the Environment Agency to handle your data wiping or disposal of your hard drive.
Statistics change constantly and can easily be made to suit anyone's purposes. However it is still worth taking note of the facts in order to make sure that the problem with computer and electronics recycling doesn't become worse than it already is. .Are you looking full ebook about this topicGet Full Ebook For This Article
