YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Parting with electronic devices can be hard, especially when they contain so much of your valuable data that has been collected during years of use.
The same is true for small businesses that may have proprietary data stored on computers, tablets and phones.
Although many people have a collection of old devices, storing them in a closet or basement is not the best option.
Now, through a partnership between Goodwill Industries and GreenBoard IT, desktop and laptop computers, tablets, phones and VCR/DVD players can be safely dropped off for free during specified dates at four area Goodwill locations – Austintown, Niles, Calcutta and the newly renovated Boardman store.
“We’re very excited to be offering an e-waste collection drive to the community,” said Shelley Murray, CEO of Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries, noting the next dropoff time will be from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 1.
When the items are dropped off, they will be kept in a supervised area until GreenBoard IT collects them.
Certified to remove information from devices, GreenBoard IT makes certain data is not compromised.
“People have a lot of items that they just collect in their homes, because they’re not sure what to do with it, myself included,” Murray said. “You don’t want to give away laptop computers or desktops that have old info. Information on it could have bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, lots of personal information that you wouldn’t want to get in the hands of somebody who would do something with that to harm you.”
Wiley Runnestrand, vice president of GreenBoard IT, said the company is certified under the highest R2V3 standards and certifications, ensuring data is destroyed either digitally or physically before any items are reused. Some parts will be reused in circuit boards, and rare earth metals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt will go back into new devices, which means less will need to be mined.
“China is one of the biggest suppliers of rare earth metals, and so by us reusing those materials, it’s less that we have to rely on a supply chain that includes China,” Runnestrand said, adding it is a matter of national security.
“Obviously, we play a small role in that, but we do play a role.”
Helping small businesses and residents recycle electronics the same way a large business, hospital or college can was one of the goals behind the creation of GreenBoard IT, Runnestrand said. One of the biggest problems a person or small business faces when recycling electronics is how to make recycling only a few items cost-effective.
“It’s easy to go to a business where there’s 500 employees and recycle all those machines,” said Runnestrand, adding the partnership with Goodwill will allow GreenBoard to collect items more efficiently. There is no limit to the number of items one person or small business can drop off at one time.
Goodwill is a longtime supporter of repurposing items, thus keeping them out of landfills. Now electronics can be added to the list.
“I actually heard a startling statistic last week that 87% of items that could be given away and repurposed end up in landfills,” Murray said. “So that’s a very disheartening number. We know there’s a lot more items out there that we absolutely would be able to take and get them back out to somebody else who can use them.”
Following the March 1 dropoff, another is slated for April 5. Items that will not be accepted include printers and televisions due to the expense of discarding them.
Pictured at top: Shelley Murray, CEO of Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries.