Business Clean Up Australia Day Feb 28: Sustainability & ITAD

Feb 28 is Business Clean Up Australia Day. A day where organisations are invited to support Clean Up Australia’s efforts to address Australia’s waste challenges.

In a modern world with reliance on technology and devices to simply ‘get the work done’, there is in-turn an overwhelming challenge of dealing with a Global e-waste problem. That problem in a snapshot¹:

• 88% of the 4 million computers/laptops purchased in Australia every year will end up in landfill – this contributes to the 140,000+ tonnes of electronic waste generated by Australians every year
• E-waste is responsible for 70% of the toxic chemicals such as lead, cadmium and mercury found in landfill
• Electronic rubbish is growing at three times the rate of any other waste stream
• Fewer than 10% of PC’s and laptops are recycled Australia wide
• Yet 98% of the components in your computer can be fully recycled.

It’s crazy to think about the number of devices Australians use for work (and personal) alone, and when turned to e-waste can cause such serious environmental problems that pollute our soil, water and disrupt our ecosystems and health. Beyond our own personal contribution, ALL Businesses need to play a part, stand up and take action.

At Mac Centre, our IT Asset Disposition services are a great solution to your organisations end of life device dilemma.

ITAD services help to promote environmental sustainability in several ways:

• Prevention of E-waste: ITAD helps to prevent E-waste by ensuring that end-of-life equipment is disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.
• Recycling and reuse: We partner with ITAD companies to recycle and refurbish IT equipment, which reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfill. Refurbished equipment can be used again, extending the life of that equipment, while reducing the demand for new resources. Mac Centre can also provide you with a quote to recycle your outdated IT assets and save your business money by recouping some of the cost of your equipment.
• Data destruction: We provide secure data destruction services to ensure that sensitive information is not leaked or disposed of in an insecure manner. This helps to reduce the risk of identity theft and other forms of cybercrime.
• Energy conservation: by recycling and reusing IT equipment, ITAD helps to­ conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of new electronics.

Mac Centre is constantly reviewing all areas of the business in our own attempt to be more sustainable. Recent operational changes include the move towards non-plastic packaging materials, opting for environmentally friendly resources such as cardboard, paper tape, recycled boxes, and recyclable bubble wrap. We all have a long way to go, but the collective of small steps is what’s needed to have a lasting impact.

Did you also know…That by investing in Apple as your employee device of choice, you’re already making a conscious sustainable decision?

Apple are taking responsibility for their products at every stage of the life cycle — including the materials they are made of, the people who assemble them, and how they are recycled at end of life. And with a committed focus on the area’s where they can make the biggest difference for our planet: reducing their impact on climate change, conserving important resources, and using safer materials.

As Apple continue to make progress in reducing their contribution to climate change, it’s their dedication to making small adjustments, that are having meaningful impact. The latest transition to Apple silicon across the Mac range, has significantly increased product energy efficiency. With the new Mac mini also consuming up to 60% less energy while in active use than the previous generation². An example of why Apple devices consistently rank among the high-performing products, rated by ENERGY STAR^Ò.

If your business is feeling the overwhelming need, ‘to do better’ or ‘to do more’ with your old devices, reach out to the Mac Centre team to see how our Asset Disposition services can help your business in the fight against e-waste.

^* For more information on how you can get involved in the amazing initiative of Business Clean Up Australia Day – click here.

^* For more info on Apple’s commitment to the environment click here.

Check out some of our other blogs.

•  E-Waste problem as highlighted by Clean Up Australia: https://www.cleanup.org.au/e-waste
• Testing conducted by Apple in October 2020 using a preproduction Mac mini with Apple M1 chip, 8GB of memory, 256GB SSD and LG UltraFine 5K Display, and a shipping Mac mini with a quad‑core Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of memory, 256GB SSD and LG UltraFine 5K Display. Energy consumption was measured during wireless browsing of top websites.