What questions do I need to ask my ITAD company?

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Choosing to use an ITAD (It Asset Disposal) company to help dispose of your business electrical waste is beneficial in several ways. From helping to keep your redundant business data safe to preventing your old waste from harming the planet, there’s no denying IT asset disposal is important to businesses for a number of reasons.
But choosing the right disposal company is crucial to ensuring that your business needs are met. Opting to use an ITAD before researching or discussing your requirements with them could put your business at risk of data theft or make your assets hazardous to the environment.
So, what should you ask your ITAD company before booking a collection?
What equipment do you use to complete our needed service?
Although you might just want to hand over your assets to your ITAD to complete the needed service, you need to know how they do it.
For example, data destruction is a common service offered by most, if not all, IT disposal centres. However, if destruction is not completed by either a shredder, data wiping system, or degausser, this can leave sensitive information behind. This means that data is at risk of infiltration and, if extracted by an unwanted user, could result in a data security breach.
Luckily, if you choose an ITAD company that uses proper disposal methods and equipment, you won’t need to worry about the security of your business data.
What documents do you provide with a service?
Certificates and proof of proper disposal should always be provided to you after your needed service is complete. These documents help businesses prove to governing bodies that they are properly disposing of their redundant IT. Along with this, in the event of a data breach, the documents allow you to have proof it was not caused via fault of your business.
If your chosen ITAD does not offer documents as proof of disposal, then be wary. It is likely that they do not want their business linked back to the service they are carrying out for you, meaning it could be unsafe.
Is the ITAD company certified?
To be able to collect your electrical waste at all, an ITAD company must be a certified waste carrier. Always ask for proof of their waste carrier’s license before asking for a collection, otherwise, your business may be paying for an illegal collection.
Along with the carrier’s license, you should also ask under what bodies the ITAD company is certified to carry out its services. If your chosen company has a website, look through their accreditations and see if they are approved to conduct their services.
Furthermore, an ITAD’s policies can be a good way to determine their trustworthiness. Security policies, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Quality policies are great indicators of what standards the ITAD company holds themselves to. If they have clear policies on how they conduct their services for their clients, then they are likely to be reliable to use.
Do you have a zero-to-landfill policy?
E-waste is one of the largest growing waste streams in the world. Now not only households but also businesses need to be wary of how they are contributing to the E-waste stream. Using a zero-to-landfill ITAD company is a great way to prevent your redundant business assets from harming the environment by leaking harmful chemicals via landfills.
With many ITADs across the UK, it’s now often common practice for them to have a zero-to-landfill policy for all the waste electrical items they receive. By dismantling, recycling, and reusing elements from E-waste, ITADS help businesses limit their environmental impact.
If your business wants to ensure they are contributing positively to the planet, using a sustainable ITAD with eco-friendly policies is a great place to start.
Not sure what you need from an ITAD? Contact us to speak to a friendly member of our team to see how we can help.