ICCM Weekly - August 24th, 2004

Environmental CRM: Toward a Corporate "Recycling Mindset" for Retired Assets

By: Rani Averick

The piles of old PCs taking up precious space in company storage rooms are occupying prominent slots on legislative agendas as well. Out-of-use electronics such as PCs, monitors, and telecommunications equipment pose an environmental hazard due to their toxic components, and regulations are on the rise to keep them out of landfills and out of the municipal waste stream.

As old equipment accumulates, IT managers face a growing need to adopt best end-of-life practices to protect their companies from environmental liabilities, and to avoid negative publicity. Recycling is an increasingly important component of end-of-life asset management.

End of Lifecycle Issues: Poison, Politics, Penalties & Privacy

End-of-life management decisions should take into account various concerns related to electronic waste. Environmental, political, legislative, and data privacy issues are among the factors that shape best practices.

Environmental and health hazards

Hundreds of millions of pieces of electronic equipment will reach the end of their useful life over the next five years. Equipment that is land filled, crushed, broken, shredded or incinerated can potentially release toxins and carcinogens into the environment. For example, an estimated 40% of lead in landfills comes from leaded glass of CRT monitors, lead soldering on circuit boards, and other discarded electronics. Among other toxins are mercury in flat panel monitors, printed circuit boards, mobile phones, batteries, relays, and switches; cadmium in semiconductors, chip resistors, and infrared detectors; and brominated flame retardants in circuit boards and plastics.

Exporting the problem

Political and legal controversy has arisen over the fifty to eighty percent of electronics collected for 'recycling' that are exported to Asia, where there are limited resources to ensure proper handling consistent with environmental protection and worker safety. This controversy is highlighted in a revealing documentary 'Exporting Harm,' produced by the Basel Action Network and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, and is the ongoing focus of political and environmental activist organizations.

Legal liability

In the US, hazardous waste laws specify that an organization that generates more than 100 kilograms a month (approximately 220 pounds) of hazardous waste must dispose of it in a legally approved manner. And, in some cases, an organization may be held liable for an indefinite period if it generates hazardous waste that is subsequently mishandled by a contractor.

New and pending legislation aims specifically at electronic waste. The EU has already passed key e-waste measures, and, according to the Gartner Group, 24 new laws are currently under consideration by various US cities and states. The clearly emergent trend is toward an increase in regulations to protect against toxic e-waste, and to prevent its export to Asia.

Data security and privacy

Security of corporate data and compliance with financial and medical privacy laws - such as such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)- have become key issues for end-of-life asset management. Old PCs that are resold or improperly discarded could have recoverable data on their hard drives, and potential unauthorized data disclosure and legal violations could result.

Storage costs

Many companies pay the cost of doing nothing by continuing to store out of use equipment. Tying up valuable office and warehouse space in this way is an expensive proposition in terms of rent and real estate taxes.

Risk Mitigation and 'Green' Public Relations

It is important not to underestimate the potential costs of mishandling electronic waste, such as penalties, lawsuits, and negative publicity. According to the Gartner Group's Frances O?Brien, "Many enterprises have paid a high price in costs, regulatory fines, bad publicity and even litigation, when their PCs turned up in landfills or third-world countries, or when confidential data was recovered from hard drives that had not been properly sanitized."

As important are the benefits of risk mitigation and goodwill generated among customers and employees when end-of-lifecycle assets are handled in a 'green,' environmentally responsible manner. Green-minded decision-making aligned with overall corporate needs and objectives is good business.

Recycling as a Best Practice

In the recycling process, out of use electronic equipment is demanufactured (taken apart), and its base metals, plastics, and chemical components become reusable materials for smelters, refiners, and chemical companies. Instead of entering the waste stream or contaminating the environment, the equipment becomes feedstock for manufacturing new products.

Electronics recycling is an emerging industry; both its physical and legal infrastructure are in the process of being built. The basic business model, however, is straightforward. The recycler?s freight, storage and labor costs are measured against the value of the base components that they process, and clients are charged accordingly. True electronics recycling does not usually come free and the expense should be factored into total cost of ownership.

Your goal in adopting recycling for end of life assets is to be released from all liability. Be sure to estabWhen selecting a recycler, do thorough due diligence by verifying that the vendor:lish internal practices that support that goal. Securely wipe the hard drives of PCs destined for retirement. Designate an area to temporarily store and track end of life equipment. Establish an audit trail for each piece of equipment that you send out for recycling, and get a Certificate of Recycling from your vendor for all of your equipment that they process.

When selecting a recycler, do thorough due diligence by verifying that the vendor:

Works within an ISO 14001 Certified Environmental Management System
Uses refiners, smelters, and other business partners who work within environmental guidelines
Can give excellent client references
Uses clean demanufacturing methods that do not release toxins into the work environment
Does not allow parts or equipment to be land filled or exported to Asia
Provides a Certificate of Recycling for all items processed
Has regular audits of their facility by a third party

The expense of electronics recycling must be measured against the potential costs of penalties, litigation, negative publicity, or data security breaches resulting from improper e-waste disposal. An environmentally sound end-of-life strategy will pay off in risk mitigation and company goodwill, not to mention the positive impact on our global environment.

**PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO OUR PRESS PAGE**

Top

Please choose a sub-topic below for further information:

Quality management system registered to ISO 9001:2008

management system registered to ISO 14001:2004

Home Office:

1001-59 Washington
11th and Washington
Chicago Heights, IL 60411
Phone: 708-756-9838
Toll Free: 888-452-5642
Fax: 708-756-4094

Additional Locations:

Concord, NC
Dallas, TX
Huntsville, AL
Sacramento, CA
St. Louis, MO
Tampa, FL
Toronto, ON
Vancouver, BC

E-mail:
Web: