The global market for electronics is growing rapidly and telecommunications is one industry that has seen and will continue to move at a rapid pace. Around 70% of people have a smartphone and the number will increase in the coming years. With this, users would upgrade to new smartphones and companies will upgrade to new telecom equipment. Now, if the companies switch to newer equipment that will leave the old equipment useless. The problem comes when you are not able to sell them because some of them are old and they don’t work that leaves us with one solution: Recycle this e-waste. Here are some mind-boggling statistics about e-waste:
- An article from CBC states that worldwide, only about 20% of E-waste actually gets recycled.
- E-waste comprises 70% of our overall toxic waste.
Why there is a need for recycling of e-waste?
Recycling of e-waste is required because when e-waste is deposited into the landfills then it can cause a rise in pollution. Recycling them would reduce the demand for mining heavy metals.
Here we will see 2 points on the benefits of e-waste recycling:
- Helps with waste management: There is a surge in the growth of the electronics industry plus the life duration of new products is also less that leads to the generation of e-waste.
- Get rid of toxic materials: Old telecom equipment contains substances that are toxic like mercury, cadmium, chromium and it requires expert e-waste management so that these materials don’t get out in the environment.
How to recycle E-Waste (Telecom Equipment) the correct way?
Selling off your old telecom equipment
This is one of the basic ways to get rid of the equipment and it counts in recycling too. If you are a big organization and have excess telecom equipment spared with you, then you can sell it off to a small organization that might be in need of the equipment. You will be able to upgrade to new technology and the buyer will meet their requirements. So, it will be a win-win for both parties. If you are having trouble finding a buyer, then you can also list eBay. Here’s a pro tip: fix a price before selling your equipment to an organization and you can find any popular electronic shop that will buy telecom equipment.
Choose a certified e-waste recycling company
We all know the effects of e-waste are harmful not only for the environment but also for the inexperienced workers who remove the metals from the e-waste while being in a hazardous condition. They are surrounded by toxic fumes and are not under proper protection. So, the safest way is to connect with an expert e-waste recycler. There are various e-waste recycling companies available in the market. The companies will keep every minute detail while doing the recycling of old telephone equipment.
The telecom recycling company will perform R2 (responsible recycling) and you will be able to extract the maximum value for your old equipment. The companies will also provide hand disassembly recycling for the equipment that is fragile and expensive, plus the data destruction would be done by the experts with proper precision and in less time. Just keep these things in mind before choosing an e-waste recycling company. Another benefit of e-waste recycling companies is that they are perfect for IT asset recovery and management and the experts would come over, pick up your equipment and will provide you with a quote. This is one of the safest, profitable methods for telecom recycling.
Selling it back to the telecom manufacturers
There are lots of manufacturers who have an exchange policy in which they will take back your old telephone equipment and will give you a discount if you buy new telephone equipment from them. Manufacturers know how to dispose and recycle telephone equipment like an e-waste recycler. But they won’t have the same expertise and they can take a lot of time plus there can be chances that your data might not get recovered or it can get corrupted. The manufacturers can deal in cash but the process can take a lot of time. They will refurbish your telephone equipment and later on sell them. But you must only visit an authorized manufacturer, if not then certified e-waste recycler would do it.
Donating or Contribution to a business
There are lots of NGOs present that are in the need for telecom equipment. They don’t require any high-end equipment, so your old working equipment would be fine for them. The benefit would be that this equipment won’t turn into any hazardous e-waste. This could help an NGO grow, so a donation of your old equipment works amazingly well. The other case is when you can contribute to a startup or any business if they are in the need for telephone equipment. You need to keep these 2 things in mind, is the telephone equipment working? And take back up of your data before donating?
Conclusion
It’s necessary to recycle the e-waste properly and this will serve 2 purposes that are these old telephone equipment will get re-used or get recycled properly under the guidance of expert e-waste recycler and you will get a monetary profit in place of selling them. Don’t let your old telecom equipment rot and choose any of the above-mentioned ways.