Simplify IT recycling by making the right choices

WHEN it comes to responsible recycling and disposal of IT equipment, the legislation is complicated, but there is no reason to make matters worse by making the wrong choices.

Upon choosing a recycling company, there are a number of basic questions one should ask.

An increasing number of government regulations, industry standards and internal risk mitigation policies require organisations to sanitise storage media prior to disposal or re-use.

Certificate of data destruction

There are numerous destruction options that guarantee privacy and also ensure a company’s reputation will not be compromised – whether data destruction is done through software erasure, hard drive shredding or degassing, a certificate of data destruction must be provided to validate the quality of service.

A Certificate of Data Destruction is an assurance that every possible measure was taken to safely and securely eradicate and destroy all data compliant with Government and industry regulations.

PPA

The Protection of Personal Information Act 2013 (PoPI 2013) affects every company and is arguably the most important element of the recycling and disposal process.

It forces companies to introduce strict measures and guidelines that will safeguard the processing, usage and handling of sensitive information.

It also places a strict onus on businesses when it comes to handling personal information about their clients, staff and customers.

ISO rating

An Environmental Management System (EMS) ISO 14001:2004 accreditation for refurbishment and redistribution of redundant IT assets and equipment is a global series of EMS standards that were developed for organisations to incorporate environmental aspects into operations and product standards.

ISO 14000 is a set of voluntary environmental management standards, guides and technical reports, which specifically focuses on corporate environmental management systems, operating practices, products, and services.

BSI quality rating

BSI is another requirement. It is amongst the most respected and reputable management systems certification bodies in the world and accredited by around 20 local and international bodies.

BSI is an accreditation that confirms that the IT recycler operates a Quality Management System (QMS) that complies with requirements of ISO 9001:2015 for the Collection and Disposal of IT assets and equipment.

Chain of supply

IT recycling companies should provide an asset report with a detailed breakdown of equipment collected.

Secure reverse logistics with a chain of custody should be provided for each item containing a hard drive and daily trend reporting must be included so that undesirable trends can be identified before they become critical.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.

For news straight to your phone invite us:

WhatsApp – 072 069 4169

Instagram – zululand_observer