The news seems full of stories about the dire straits of planet Earth. Scientists warning of greenhouse gasses, extreme weather, overflowing landfills, polluted water and air can seem overwhelming and any way you can help as an individual, inadequate. But don’t discount the small ways that you can contribute to a solution.
One growing environmental issue is the high volume of cell phones discarded each year with as many as 120 million added to landfills annually. Americans typically upgrade to a new phone every 18-24 months, so you can see how used phones can add up. However, most cell phone components can easily be recycled, so it is worth exploring as an option for you personally and your business.
What Can Be Recycled?
Your cell phone consists of not only plastic and metal, but also unexpected components of value. The following may be contained in your cell phone in some quantity and can be resold in bulk by recycling services, like Tri-Star Recycling:
- Gold
- Platinum
- Copper
Amounts of gold and platinum would be very small, but copper components often make up as much as 15% of your phone’s materials. By breaking down unwanted phones, the separate pieces can be recycled or resold.
How Cell Phone Recycling Works for a Business
Allowing your employees to trade up for a new cell phone on a regular basis results in quite a collection of phones. Concerns for their disposal range from environmental to data security. Recycling in bulk instead of sitting on mounds of used phones can save your business money, as well as contribute to saving the planet. It all starts with securing and wiping the data stored on those handheld computers.
Data Security
Thinking about how much sensitive data might be stored on employees’ smartphones must make the legal department lose sleep. Your phone’s data security is the primary concern of Tri-Star Recycling. Our secure Data Destruction procedures offer peace-of-mind that TSR takes its security seriously. TSR overwrites your data to the point nothing remains to fall into the wrong hands. This is before dismantling or otherwise disposing of your phones.
Other Risk Mitigation Protocols
We are committed to providing secure data destruction for our clients by following industry standards and best practices with additional risk mitigation protocols including, but not limited to:
- Badge in Badge out – Anyone entering or exiting our facility is accounted for in real-time
- Strict Limited Access and video surveillance of all facilities
- Background checks and background audits of all employees
- Cyber Security Insurance and Chain of Custody Documentation
- Comprehensive HDD Audit Reports and Certificates of Data Destruction
Another Option for Cell Phone Disposal
If recycling your mobile phones isn’t exactly what you want to do, there are other options other than the landfill. Many domestic violence charities and shelters around the country collect phones for the families they assist. Those donated phones often serve as a lifeline to victims who have no access to other phones, and with your donation that connection with emergency services can save their life. It is important to confirm they follow procedures to secure your data before turning over any smartphones. Most will wipe all data from the cell phones and program them for 911 calls only.
Learn More About TSR’s Cell Phone Recycling
Tri-Star Recycling upholds a zero-landfill mission. All clients receive documentation outlining chain of custody and assurance that all data has been destroyed properly. Our downstream vendors share our zero-landfill mission; being R2-certified means we only work with other R2-certified vendors. Click here to learn more about our cell phone recycling services, send us an inquiry online or call us at (615) 265-8101.