In addition, no matter how beneficial computers, their equipment, and other technology devices are, they can all contribute to the frustration and burden of e-waste. Thankfully, your interest in wanting to know where you can dispose of old computer equipment is a good starter. If you are an ordinary computer owner, you might want to partner with a reputable and trustworthy computer service company that will do the job for you. For experience and competence, it is best to partner with Abtron Computer Services Inc. 

Since anything you store on your computer and other electronics is considered personal and strictly private, you don't have to worry about partnering with Abtron Computer Services Inc. because they follow strict guidelines to prevent data leakage. Later, you will know more about Abtron. In case you are still contemplating doing proper computer disposal with a competitive company, explore below why all electronics owners must follow the proper e-waste disposal. 

Let's get started.

Importance of Proper E-waste Disposal 

Truly, once your computer equipment was an IT asset that helps to alleviate your burden with tasks that require technology. Like other kinds of electronics, they only have a limited lifespan, depending on how you use them. After their functionality ends, they are all considered as e-waste. The problem is when they become useless, they all end up with trash. 

In fact, as technology fastly evolves, people become quicker to find their electronics unappealing. Sometimes, they ignore their old computer and equipment, not because they are not functional anymore but because they crave the latest electronics. 

Therefore, it explains the emerging toxic e-waste problems and the rise of the need for the proper disposal of e-waste and even proper electronic recycling. If that is still not enough reason, be convinced of the other important reasons. Check them out below: 

E-waste is hazardous.

Most electronic devices, including your computer equipment like hard drives, processors, monitors, keyboards, and computer hardware, are created using hazardous materials. As already mentioned above, these materials can lead to a serious threat to safety. It includes people, animals, and the environment. That's why it is necessary to emphasize that because of e-waste safety threats, e-waste solutions are a genuinely essential part of electronics owning. 

Being combined with ordinary trash, e-waste can inevitably contaminate and pollute land, water, and air. Here are some dangerous components that hazardous waste electronics have: 

• Leaded glass

By just observing your computer and other electronics, you'll see that there are glasses that include lead. Primarily, computer screens or monitors are built with this dangerous component. Leaded glass is a poisonous heavy metal that causes a high safety risk. 

• Mercury

Mercury is another common dangerous component put together in most electronic devices. Due to its possessed threat, it requires proper disposal. Otherwise, mercury can lead to several health issues, primarily skin and respiratory disorders.

• Cancer-causing elements

From their name itself, they cause cancer; worse, they can lead to shorter life if they are not disposed of properly. Some of the electronics components which have these elements include batteries. Some of the risky elements are lead, cadmium, and lithium. 

Proper e-waste disposal is already a regulation. 

In some places, there is already strict regulation about proper e-waste management and disposal, proving that e-waste issues are worth addressing by many people to ensure safety. Hence, if public officials are worried about e-waste issues, you should be as well. In fact, you will surely not like it if you are already experiencing health issues just because of e-waste, right? Therefore, you must practice proper e-waste recycling or e-waste disposal before it is too late.

Proper e-waste disposal adds a safety layer of assurance for data privacy.

Many electronic owners probably don't know the value of their private data. Sometimes, they overlook their data, thinking that it won't do any harm to them. However, everything personal is valuable for data thieves. They can work for anything and threaten a person with their own data. Unless you want to experience such frustrating trouble with electronics disposal, you need to work with a trustworthy computer services company. 

In addition, just deleting files will not give you great data safety assurance. In fact, safety measures, such as erasing or even overwriting data, are not enough to be considered secure data destruction. Unfortunately, large companies have discovered that data breaches are caused by neglect of proper and secure data destruction. For large companies, even small data breach leads to the potential of fines or lawsuits as consequences.

Now, after knowing the importance of proper e-waste disposal, you might start to plan on disposing of your old computer equipment now. But don't be too fast in doing so because, as already discussed above, you need to make sure that you will not become a victim of a data threat. For that reason, you need to know how to properly protect your data before getting rid of your computer equipment. Just keep reading to learn more.

Securing data before computer equipment disposal 

Anything data that is yours must remain private at all times so that you won't fall into the evil hands of data thieves that can push you through corners just to milk money from your weakness. To avoid ending up like that, follow the steps below before working with a computer service company to have a safe and secure computer equipment disposal finally.

Create a backup of all of your important data. 

Of course, before you get rid of your old computer and its equipment, you need to check for the most necessary and valuable data you have and create a secure backup of everything. In addition, having an idea of how much data you need to backup will let you know how much space you’ll need. With that having said, here are some options where you can backup your data: 

• Transfer your data to your new computer. 

For accessibility and convenience, it is much better just to transfer your most important data to your new computer. Suppose you still don't have a new computer when you are about to dispose of computer equipment. In that case, you don't have to worry because you can try out other options. 

• Save your data to an external storage device.

Looking for a cheaper option to backup your important data? Well then, saving them to an external storage device is your best choice. USB flash drives are the most affordable option, plus it is extremely convenient to carry them around whenever you want to. However, USB flash drives only have a moderate amount of storage. So, if you have too many files to backup, two or more USB flash drives won't be enough. By that, your other option is an external hard drive. 

Truly, an external hard drive will cost you more than a USB flash drive. However, they are a better option if you want more storage capacity. Aside from the larger capacity, it is also faster to transfer your files on an external hard drive because it allows you to transfer a whole folder and even lets you schedule an automatic backup. 

• Save your data in the cloud.

Interestingly, there are several cloud storage services, which allow you to save your precious data online; most are allowing you to save for free. Some of the most trustworthy cloud storage services are Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, and Evernote. In addition, you can pay if you want to have a larger storage capacity. 

Sign out your accounts and disconnect devices. 

After securing a backup of your private data, the next step you must do is sign out all of your accounts from your computer before you get rid of it, including all of its equipment. Aside from signing out your accounts, you must also disconnect your computer from your different Bluetooth devices, including a keyboard, wireless display, and mouse.

Erase your hard drive. 

When you are done signing out your account and disconnecting it, the next thing you need to do is erase and wipe out the internal hard drive. After that, you can secure proper data destruction by looking for a program that allows you to erase all your data and reset it to factory settings. Hence, there will be no possible data recovery that can put your privacy at stake. 

Why Partner with Abtron Computer Services Inc.?

Abtron Computer Services Inc. is an excellent answer to where you should dispose of your old computer equipment. With over 25 years of experience, you can count on them to give you the most outstanding service that can satisfy your need with eco-friendly e-waste disposal. 

On top of all of that, Abtron also offers incredible services, including IT assets depot services, secure data destruction, hard drive recovery, and many more. Visit the website if you want to know all of Abtron's services. In case you need server and computer equipment, Abtron is an official corporate dealer of many brands. 

To achieve your safe computer equipment disposal, contact Abron at 416-661-7503 or visit the website to get a free quote.