Common mistakes made by companies who handle their e-waste disposal

E-waste is the broad description used to categorise items that either hold electrical or battery power. This stream of waste is not the same as general waste and should not be treated as such. Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) by law needs to be separated from general streams.

If these electrical items find their way into general landfills, toxic materials which once broken down can leach into soil and water posing a serious environmental risk.

Electronic equipment of any size can and often does store a trove of sensitive data. Items such as laptops, computers and servers have the potential to store huge quantities of data. However, other electricals such as disks, routers and even printers can also store important confidential data. If not treated properly, the equipment becomes a data breach risk.

Beyond financial penalties, businesses may suffer reputational damage, loss of customer trust, and potential legal action from individuals whose data has been mishandled. In severe cases, regulatory authorities may impose operational restrictions, which can severely disrupt business activities. With the risks to business and the threat of legal punishment, many businesses outsource the management of these assets. In-house asset management is costly and time-consuming, leading many organisations to trust this management in the hands of a trusted third party.

In the event of UK businesses failing to comply with data security legislation, they could face significant consequences, both legally and financially. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 impose strict requirements on how businesses collect, store, and handle personal data. Non-compliance can result in substantial fines—up to £17.5 million or 4% of annual global turnover, whichever is higher.

Recycling and reusing IT equipment offer significant benefits, particularly in the context of the circular economy. By extending the life cycle of devices, businesses can reduce waste and lessen the environmental impact associated with the extraction of raw materials, such as gold, silver, and rare earth elements. Recycling helps recover these valuable metals, reducing the need for environmentally destructive mining operations and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Repurposing IT equipment also creates opportunities for cost savings and resource efficiency. Instead of being discarded, functioning devices can be refurbished and reused, thereby minimising e-waste. This practice aligns with the circular economy’s principles of maximising product life cycles, reducing resource consumption, and creating a more sustainable approach to technology. It is not just the businesses themselves that can benefit from the repurposing of assets either. Refreshing the corporate IT estate allows organisations the opportunity to donate usable equipment to good causes and charities.

Some businesses and Government agencies require complete physical destruction of assets. Not all assets can be reused due to the highly sensitive nature of the data stored. S2S Group can offer services which require this level of strict security.

A recent customer of S2S Group and a large Governmental Department was able to use S2S Group to ensure complete and irreversible, physical destruction of assets from 16 locations right across the UK. The secure collection was arranged using S2S Group’s SC-cleared operatives and brought back to S2S Group’s secure site.

During every step of the process, all assets were tagged and tracked. This allowed the customer to monitor all IT equipment live using S2S Group’s own Trakk-IT portal, updated on every step of the destruction process. Assets were shredded down to 25mm particles using an onsite shredder and certification of destruction was sent to the customer confirming the complete destruction of all assets.

Although, it is possible to destroy assets ‘in-house’ S2S Group offers security and logistical efficiency, confirming the group as one of the UK’s leading data destruction experts. If your business or organisation requires a similar level of service speak to one of the S2S Group Customer Service team now.

For end-of-life IT, many businesses select a trusted partner to ensure the safe and secure disposal of e-waste. S2S Group is one such partner and can collect, refurbish, and return assets quickly and sustainably to help businesses get the most use possible out of the electronic refurbishment process.