What exactly is it that companies need to protect themselves from? First, there is data security. Your company’s hard drives are full of confidential information about your company, your employees and your customers. Even if you think the IT department erased all your information before getting rid of your computer, the truth is that any skilled hacker can recover this deleted information. Many companies even leave their computers with all or some of their stored data in tact.

Our research has led us to the fact that a good ten percent of hard drives, allegedly erased, still have data on them. We at eWaste can certify that all your confidential information is destroyed.

There is also another secondary data risk that evolves from software licensing agreements. Almost every program on your computer is covered by these agreements which make it illegal to distribute the software. If your product falls into the wrong hands, you could face legal fines up to $100,000 for each violation and criminal penalties of $250,000 each. Recently, software makers have begun aggressive initiatives to identify such violators.

Environmental Liability

The next area of liability risk for companies lies in our country's environmental laws set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We guarantee compliance with all environmental laws. The biggest source of potential waste disposal liability is the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the Superfund Law. Under CERCLA, the EPA finds contaminated sites, organizes cleanup, finds out who is responsible and gives them the bill. Any company who’s PC is found in a landfill will have to deal with Superfund and their excessively big bill.

There are serious environmental dangers that arise from electronic equipment that has been thrown out. A monitor can have up to nine pounds of lead in addition to other pollutants like cadmium and chromium.

There are many reasons that companies NEED to recycle their used electronic equipment: some are for the good of their own business, some are for our environment, and others are in accordance with the law. Today’s companies cannot have old equipment powering their company. Staying up to date not only means buying new hardware, but also getting rid of old hardware in a way that reduces your company’s liability risks and also its costly inventory.