Smals recycles old ICT material through Out of Use
In future, Smals will have its discarded hardware recycled by Out of Use. So the equipment will find a new purpose, or be securely destroyed. The proceeds go to Natuurpunt.
As an ICT organisation for public institutions, Smals has a great deal of ICT equipment. But once equipment has been written off, the organisation must be sure that the material does not just end up on the rubbish heap and that it contains no old data. To achieve this, Smals this week signed an open-ended contract with Out of Use, the recycling specialist that will collect the equipment from Smals and repurpose or recycle it.
During recycling the equipment is completely dismantled, so that certain parts or materials can be recovered. Depending on the treatment, hard disks can be physically destroyed or dismantled using a degausser which wipes the data with an alternating magnetic field.
"From 100 per cent electronic waste we recycle 89.96 per cent into secondary raw materials," says Mark Adriaenssens of Out of Use. "Because we mainly recycle IT materials, we also offer several levels of data destruction, from software data wiping to mechanical perforation, degaussing, or shredding of the hardware. In light of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), this gives significant reassurance to the previous owners of decommissioned material. Leading ICT players like Smals are an excellent example for other businesses."
For every item of hardware, Smals receives documentation to show how it has been processed. The proceeds from recycling go to Recycling for Natuurpunt, who plant new trees.
“For every repurposed or recycled item we get a certificate that guarantees the destruction of all the data,” says Smals CEO Frank Robben. At the same time, we are extending our social mission by supporting social protection and health in a fully-fledged CSR policy, in terms of good governance, working conditions, environment, fair business practices and community involvement. For example, Smals uses 100% green electricity and keeps down the energy bill in its data centres with innovative air and water cooling. We fully reimburse commuting by public transport and sort our waste conscientiously. The specialist processing of ICT material, the proceeds from which we now donate to Natuurpunt for tree planting, is another very tangible return to society," concludes Frank Robben.
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