With sustainability and cost efficiency at the top of most business agendas, corporate printing solutions have found themselves firmly under the spotlight in recent times. Local printers are unsecure, difficult to maintain and costly to keep running. That’s why more and more organizations are switching to digital document distribution and pull printing solutions.

But as these more efficient and more effective document processing solutions proliferate, organizations find themselves having to deal with legacy equipment that is now obsolete. The popular term used to describe such electrical products that are nearing or at the end of their useful lives is “e-waste”.

We’ve written this article to help you get to grips with your e-waste and ensure it is recycled in a safe, ethical and responsible manner.

How To Recycle E-Waste

E-waste is the fastest growing type of waste in the world, with more than 50 million metric tons generated globally every year. And because of the many toxic chemicals and components that are present in e-waste, ensuring it doesn’t make it into landfills is of the utmost importance.

This is where e-waste recycling comes in, providing a way for organizations to safely and responsibly dispose of their e-waste.

However, the e-waste recycling process is convoluted and involves many steps, each of which is designed to break the product down and separate the potentially valuable materials from the non-valuable and hazardous ones.

For this reason, organizations are advised to find a reputable e-waste recycler in their local area. Fortunately, finding an e-waste recycling company near you can be done in a few clicks thanks to initiatives such as:

Tax Incentives and Corporate Reputation Gains

Today’s consumers –  particularly younger generations – are increasingly sustainably-minded, as highlighted by The Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey. It reveals how nine out of 10 Gen Zs and millennials are making an effort to protect the environment. Furthermore, these individuals are also fond of like-minded companies, with one respondent saying: “I always opt for sustainable products even though they are more expensive.”

By showing that your organization actively recycles its e-waste, you can boost your environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) credentials, and come across more favorably in younger consumers’ eyes.

Moreover, depending on the recycling center you partner with for the handling of your e-waste, your donations may be tax deductible, allowing you to receive something in return for your efforts. To stand a chance of realizing such tax breaks, you need to ensure you are partnering with a non-profit recycling organization and one that issues tax deductible receipts.

Start Recycling Your E-Waste Now

As you can see, e-waste is a growing problem. And with the environmental damage that can occur as a result of hazardous materials from electronic items finding their way into natural ecosystems, we all need to work as hard as possible to ensure e-waste is disposed of correctly.

If part of your sustainability initiatives involves replacing your legacy printing solution with a modern alternative, please ensure you look into how to recycle the resulting e-waste.

To find out more about our Enterprise Out‍put Management and digital document distribution solutions, contact us today.