Whether you run and office or a household or maybe both, we all have one thing in common – we all create electronic waste.
Appliances, old or outdated computers and cell phones all add up. And all too often they pile up in landfills.

January 28th marks Data Privacy Day, an annual event held in order to promote both data privacy and best practices for protecting your critical data.
So this is an excellent time to get ahead of the risks that compromised data can present to a business.

There’s nothing quite like the holidays. The gifts. The lights. Egg nog. Well, maybe not egg nog but we all love the holiday season. Unfortunately, like with anything, all those celebrations, big and small, create waste. From lights and batteries to the electronics you’re about to replace, you’re probably sitting on a pile of stuff that you may or may not know can and should be recycled. We’ve got some ideas on how to keep the good spirits going by recycling.

When you think of metal, you think of iron, or steel, maybe copper. But
you may not know that all metals fall into one of two categories:
Ferrous or Non-Ferrous. So what’s the difference? We’ve got you covered.

If you have scrap left over from a job, you may have been told you can get a veritable goldmine for it. And while that might be true, knowing the going rates, how prices are determined and what you can really expect to receive can go a long way in ensuring that you aren’t disappointed with your haul.

For years, our economy worked in a linear way. Simply put, good were produced, sold, used and eventually discarded, typically ending up in a landfill.

But as demand has grown along with our reliance on plastics, metals and other materials that don’t easily degrade, landfills, well…became filled. And waste materials made their way into the ocean and created other environmental hazards. We are a consumer culture that buys more clothes and wears them for shorter and shorter durations and buy more and more appliances and technology that lasts or remains relevant for less and less time.

It’s time to hit the beach, grab a cold one, or have a backyard barbecue. But you know what time it is? It’s time to scrap.

Many of the items that come to mind when you think of summer can be scrapped to be both environmentally responsible and to put some cash in your pocket.

Whether you went on a year-end spending spree for the latest electronics for your business or simply need to replace or decommission old and outdated equipment, recycling your electronics is a great idea. But it’s important to know the proper way to dispose of it and why it’s so important in the first place.

You go to great lengths to recycle everything from cardboard to plastic to glass, but what about old car parts? Even routine maintenance can generate waste. For instance, oil filters shouldn’t just be recycled – they must be. The law requires it. Here are some more car-related items you may not have thought to recycle – but you should!

With all those months of maybe too much home time, you’re probably in one of two boats: you’ve taken the time to keep things tidy or you’ve accumulated more stuff. Either way, if you’re planning on getting a jump on Spring Cleaning, you’re not alone. 70% of Americans are about to do the same thing this time of year.

Recycling has its rewards. It’s good for the environment and ensures that the metals and materials are responsibly reused or processed. But it can also be financially rewarding. Whether you’re a contractor who has left over metal from a job or a business with left over materials, you might be surprised at the value recycling can deliver to your wallet. Also worth note, clean or pure metals are always worth the most.

The holiday season is exciting . For many consumers, whether it’s a new TV, a new mobile phone or a cool new toy for the parents or the kids, there’s no better time of the year. But in with the new too often means out to the garbage – and not to recycling – with the old. We are often tempted to put that old tv on the curb when we get the shiny, new big one but that comes with its problems. For one, when e-waste is disposed of and not recycled, many of these chemical-laden or mercury and lead-containing products end up in landfills where they can do harm to both the local residents and wildlife. In the instance its burned, harmful chemicals can leech out into the air.

Whether through planned obsolescence or the desire for better, faster technology, e-waste has become a real issue. In fact, the average consumer disposes of nearly 50lbs of e-waste per year. 50 lbs! And while the vast majority of waste in landfills is not e-waste – in fact, it’s less than 4% - its among the most harmful. The chemicals inherent to building computers, cell phones and other devices mix with the earth, water and the air to produce effects that can be harmful to both people and wildlife. And though they aren’t as prevalent as they used to be, there are also tax benefits available to those that make the effort to recycle e-waste.

Recycling is not a new concept but it’s an important one. Whether after a contractor completes a job, an internet-service provider wraps up an install at a school or organization or business, there is all too often leftover scrap metal that many times goes to waste.

The demand for metal continues to grow and recycling is a great way to ensure that as little waste as possible is left behind.

While working from home can have its benefits and allow for a productive workday, there are also challenges that impact ITAD. For companies, it's important to pick an ITAD partner they can trust and can aid with services such as santizing devices, help you inventory excess or unnecessary devices, and help create a plan to dispose of them properly. It's an interesting time for everyone so having the right partner is key. 

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, commonly known now as HIPAA, has provided patients with the privacy they need but it’s also been a challenge and disruption to the way medical records are maintained and managed from an IT perspective. Patient authorizations are required for any data sharing and breaches of HIPAA can have big financial applications to healthcare providers and networks. In fact, millions upon millions of dollars have been paid out in HIPAA-related breach of privacy cases. This extends to your ITAD practices as well. It’s key to have the right partner to help you navigate.

Virtually every company has the need to eliminate and recycle electronic waste. And while shredding unnecessary old or archived files is usually the answer, it isn’t always the right answer. It can shred your budget too. While on the surface shredding may seem like the simpler, cheaper alternative to wiping data, that’s simply not always the case. The machines can be cost-prohibitive and ultimately, more costly than wiping software. 

You spend on devices. You spend on hardware and software updates and upgrades. But how are you protecting your investment? ITAD (Information Technology Asset Disposition) is an important and sometimes overlooked means of ensuring that you have the means to recycle, refurbish and dispose of your old technology securely while maintaining your data security. And here’s a little more about why it’s so critical.

Proper data management is the key to protecting the security of your company’s sensitive information. In fact, companies are responsible for generating, storing, and securing sensitive data such as financial information, transactions, personally identifiable information, medical information, and more. In addition to the moral & logical responsibility of protecting this information, companies also have a legal obligation to keep sensitive data secure. 

As a business owner, you know one of your business assets is your data – your company’s financial data, your clients’ information, and other digital information. When it is time to dispose of your end-of-lifecycle electronic equipment, you must be concerned about the information stored on your devices. At Arrow, we are committed to the secure disposal of your e-waste and believe you should be informed about the importance of the Chain of Custody of your electronic data. 

The Construction & Demolition industries generate tons of waste – 569 million tons, to be exact! The EPA has issued guidance on how to develop buildings with sustainability in mind. In this article, we will be summarizing the main points for the Best Practices in managing the waste materials generated from your construction and demolition projects. 

As summer is winding down, we thought we would feature some fun activities that encourage the whole family to make sustainable choices. While we are primarily a scrap & e-waste recycling company, we are environmentally conscious and interested in ensuring all recyclable materials are utilized and disposed of properly. By getting the whole family involved, we can ensure our planet has the resources to sustain us all for generations. 

Corporate Compliance regulations vary by industry, but they are crucial in developing your company’s risk management policy. One of the biggest risks of exposure for your company is through poor data destruction polices. Simply destroying IT assets or throwing them out with the trash is not an option, particularly if your organization deals with sensitive data. 

Technology has allowed many companies to work in the current COVID-19 climate while keeping their employees and families safe at home. Remote working is a flexible solution for many organizations because it allows employees to be online and in-network while they do not need to commute or expose themselves unnecessarily to others, however remote working does raise some questions about how a company’s IT Asset Disposition plan should work. 

Due to the hard work and advocacy by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), the Department of Homeland Security designated scrap yards such as Arrow Scrap as essential businesses on March 25, 2020.