Data worries scupper corporate recycling

 

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By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 21 Mar 2011 at 10:59

Companies are more worried about data security than the environment, leading to a high percentage of IT equipment being destroyed rather than recycled, according to figures from an asset disposal group.

The Asset Disposal and Information Security Alliance said a survey of its members showed approximately a third of the work undertaken on corporate sites by its member involved the physical destruction of hard drives and other equipment.

This highlights a conflict between environmental campaigners and regulations on one side and the IT managers responsible for data security at the end of its life or end of its lease, ADISA said.

There’s a real mismatch between the regulations, and press and public demands for more recycling, and the necessity for data security

“On the one hand, people want you to recycle and reuse more, but on the other there are big issues and concerns with data security,” ADISA director Steve Mellings told PC Pro.

“If I am a corporate, I don’t care as much about the environment as I do about the safe destruction of data.

“The data security is hugely important and there’s the threat of action from the ICO – £500,000 fines might not be huge, but they are wary.”

According to Melling, the regulations surrounding recycling are completely at odds with the reality of the requirements of industry, with the ongoing revision of the EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive being a prime example.

“There’s a real mismatch between the regulations, and press and public demands for more recycling, and the necessity for data security,” Mellings said. “When data leaves a premises, we often see huge risks and so companies would rather destroy the device than risk data loss."

The results of the ADISA survey showed that, despite the high level of regulation on environmental impacts, it was the lowest-rated factor in the asset disposal process.

On a scale of one to four, with one being the most important, cost came first with a 1.56 rating, security came second at 1.78, while the environment was ranked a lowly fourth at 3.33.