Read on for a quick reminder of how to manage your IT assets without it (literally) costing the earth.

Electronic waste has all sorts of names, including Technotrash and e-waste, and includes any defunct devices and other electricals that contain toxic and/or non-biodegradable components. Technotrash presents a significant threat to the environment and requires specialist disposal that is not always available in the locations where it ends up. This can be landfill in the country in which it is generated or elsewhere in the world due to the unethical practice of exporting hazardous waste to poorer countries.

Step 1 - Resolve

New habits that benefit more than just us are much easier to stick to, so this year why not resolve to develop more sustainable habits around your IT procurement and management process?

Step 2 - Rethink

As Henry Ford famously said “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”. This next step is all about considering how our actions affect the environment and identifying the small changes that we can individually make for the better. The United Nations has identified 17 sustainable development goals to transform our world – adopting new greener habits means you’ll be helping to address at least 3 of these; Clean Water, Responsible Consumption & Production and Climate Action.

Step 3 - Reduce

If we all take a little time to stop and think about how we can reduce waste in both our professional and personal lives, the cumulative positive impact on our combined carbon footprints would be impressive. Minimising the amount of waste that we create and reducing our environmental impact is easy to do if we're more thoughtful about how we use and renew technology.

Step 4 - Reuse

One of the simplest reuse options is to refill your water bottle at the sink rather than reaching for a new one from the fridge. The energy saved by reusing just one plastic bottle is enough to power a computer for 25 minutes. We’re all guilty of getting so excited about the next new must have device that we overlook the negative impact on the environment. We all need to learn to be smarter and more responsible about how we use and reuse technology so we’re solving not creating problems.

Step 5 - Recycle

Most people are pretty clear about what recycling means in terms of their household waste but are not so aware of the environmental opportunities presented by breaking complex devices. E-waste recycling is the disassembly and separation of components and raw materials of waste electronics. This would typically include printed circuit boards such as motherboards, power supplies, graphics cards, memory RAM sticks and hard drives. Component recycling makes the best use of the economic, environmental, and social costs of materials before they are put in landfill.

Step 6 - Recover

Slightly different from recycling and often overlooked is the process of recovering waste products and putting them to good use. Recovery is the by-product of recovering less obvious materials or energy from solid waste for reuse. For example, decomposing rubbish produces methane gas, which can be recovered and burnt to produce energy or producing biodiesel from the algae that grows in sewage.

Step 7 - Refurbish

Once you have taken Reuse as far as you can and you really do need to buy new laptops and tablets you can work with a specialist like TEKrefresh to ensure your old devices are given a new lease of life ready for their next owner. All of the devices that we recycle are professionally wiped of all data using specialist recognised software giving you peace of mind that opting to do the right thing by the planet doesn’t pose any security risks.

Step 8 - Resell

Once thoroughly clean of all data we make sure everything is in good working order before we resell the devices on your behalf. Our years of experience and streamlined evaluation process means we can confidently pay you for your old devices before they have been sold. We take away the headache of realising its value and ensure that it's managed with sustainability in mind.

Step 9 - Review

Enjoy a free of charge consultation with a TEKrefresh device recycling expert. Explore the value of your redundant hardware and see how quick & easy it is to boost your purchasing budget when you work with a partner that has been successfully recycling laptops, tablets and smartphones for more than 18 years. We are very proud that we have now re-sold more than 10,000 devices that would otherwise have gone to landfill. Click the FREE REVIEW button at the top of the page to arrange a time to speak with one of our recycling experts.