Time to get rid of outdated computers, monitors, printers and other IT equipment? It’s more complex than simply calling the local used computer dealer or recycler and having them cart away your old equipment.

If you are a public corporation, you also need to be concerned about legislative compliance; risk management and liability; environmentally-responsible recycling; and consistent reporting across your organization. You also need to ensure that your name is not linked with a security breach or an incident of improper recycling.

Does your ITAD provider protect you against liability?
Depending on the nature of the information stored on your company’s hard drives, there may be federally-mandated security requirements related to Gramm-Leach-Bliley, HIPAA, or Sarbanes-Oxley that must be met when you retire them. And naturally most data can be sensitive in the wrong hands.

Unless information on hard drives is safely managed and the drives are sanitized and/or destroyed effectively, you could be exposed. For this reason it’s essential that any ITAD provider you select ensures that hard drives are properly sanitized and indemnifies you against the risk associated with information security and environmental recycling.

A significant level of insurance coverage is also required: simple umbrella coverage is not enough. An ITAD provider must have pollution insurance to cover environmental liability plus errors and omission insurance to cover damages arising from negligence, mistakes, or failure to take appropriate action in the performance of business or professional duties.

How does your ITAD Provider handle tracking and reporting?
An essential capability your ITAD Provider must have is the ability to provide an audit trail for how an asset was processed, which technicians handled it, and its final disposition. Why? Because complete tracking information is essential in the unlikely event that an asset is not handled properly, and also provides clear documentation to prove legislative compliance. Your ITAD Provider should have systems that include redundant networks and an off-site disaster recovery location, and they should provide you complete settlement reporting for every asset they handle.

How does yur ITAD Provider manage downstream recycling partners?
All ITAD Providers use the services of downstream processors or purchasers to further refine or reuse recyclable materials. A poorly managed downstream process results in poorly managed risk. Unless your ITAD Provider audits all downstream processors and scrap purchasers to guarantee that all recyclable material is handled properly, you may unwittingly be exposed to environmental liability.

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