April 22, 1970 marked the first Earth Day, and the event was partially born out of a wide-reaching concern about the environmental cost of an oil spill off the coast of California that occurred in January of 1969. On that inaugural Earth Day, 20 million Americans marched nationwide and demanded to live on a more sustainable planet. In 1990, Earth Day became a global movement, and participation increased to 200 million people in 141 countries.
In the 44 years since the first Earth Day, some environmental issues have changed while others have stayed the same. Oil spills still threaten, scarce non-renewable natural resources continue to dwindle and pollution remains a worldwide concern. But in recent years, as the pace of technological advancement has accelerated, new pollution issues have arisen. The improper disposal of e-waste, or obsolete and discarded electronic equipment, has become a crisis. Toxic chemicals, such as arsenic, lead and mercury, can often be found in electronic waste, and if not disposed of properly, wreak havoc on our environment. There is an obvious solution - recycle.
During garbage pickup days, it is common to see recycle bins in communities of all sizes and those green containers are symbols of progress. But what about corporate IT assets? Think of the thousands of storage arrays, servers, tablets, copiers and such that are retired every year. Well the news is not nearly so positive. Companies rely on a myriad of solutions to IT asset disposition some of which are environmentally friendly and others, well not so much. The scary thing is that some asset disposition companies have historically relied on low cost labor in Africa or other undeveloped countries to manually deconstruct and dispose of unwanted assets. The environment costs are significant and furthermore, the toxic chemicals impact many of these underage workers. Additionally, the toxins can impact both the water supply and other crops and food stuffs. The situation is a tragedy and must be addressed and thankfully the Basel Action Network (BAN) emerged as leader in globally responsible recycling.
BAN was founded in 1997 and named after the Basel Convention which was a United Nations treaty that restricts trade in hazardous waste. BAN's flagship project is the e-Stewards initiative which is a certification for recyclers who pledge to use only a globally responsible and safe means to process e-waste. The program establishes clear best practices around managing toxic materials including a no landfill or incinerator policy, no prison labor and no export to poor countries. In short, it brings a level of rigorousness to asset recycle and environmental stewardship that surpasses previous regulations. It is really the gold standard for recycling.
As you sit in your cube or office and read this post, I encourage you to think about your asset disposition strategy. Are you recycling your retired assets? If not, you should be - our resources are not unlimited and tossing outdated equipment into a landfill is simply not sustainable. If you are recycling then you must ask your vendor if they are compliant with the e-Stewards initiative. If you are looking for a new partner, I encourage you to consider Iron Mountain's Secure IT Asset Disposition solution which incorporates full e-Stewards certification as well as the security, reliability and consistency of service that you have come to expect from Iron Mountain.
In summary, Earth Day is an important opportunity to think about our home, earth, and what we can do to protect our environment for centuries to come. There is no doubt that a consistent disposition strategy can help, but I encourage you to think about things you can do in your personal lives as well. Simple actions like turning down the heat/air conditioning, turning off unused lights or leveraging sustainable energy sources can make an impact. All of us doing these small things together will make a huge difference in sustainability and will protect our environment for generations to come.
Photo credit: Basel Action Network
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April 22, 1970 marked the first Earth Day, and the event was partially born out of a wide-reaching concern about the environmental cost of an oil spill off the coast of California that occurred in January of 1969. On that inaugural Earth Day, 20 million Americans marched nationwide and demanded to live on a more sustainable planet. In 1990, Earth Day became a global movement, and participation increased to 200 million people in 141 countries.
