www.managedITmag.co.uk 35 with many of his colleagues. Kevin deposits his old devices with the IT department and picks up his brand‑new iPhone and laptop – see the grin on his face! The IT department notes the asset numbers of the devices for recycling before sending them off to us. There is a vital step missing here: Kevin should have eradicated the security from the old phone, and the IT Department should have removed the laptop from the MDM register. I know it is more work, but if you want to meet your net zero emission targets you need to do this. No-one said it would be easy! Living a long and useful life We all want to exist for as long as possible but so does our tech! Just because a device has reached the end of its useful life within an organisation does not mean the end is nigh. All so-called obsolete IT and tech devices can provide useful service for many years after being deemed ‘waste’. The used market for old devices is colossal and for every device that is put back into the circular economy there is a huge saving on carbon emissions. The average laptop releases 331kg of CO2e during the manufacturing process, a huge amount for a small device. We have the power to alleviate this. Let’s all work towards reducing the CO2e in device manufacturing by underscoring the importance of integrating devices back into the circular economy. while also contributing to the circular economy. DATA – the elephant in the corner Data security is a prime concern for anyone with more than one brain cell. No one wants any old Tom, Dick or Harry poking their nose into private or sensitive information. However, it must be noted that we don’t care about your data. We really don’t! We have no interest whatsoever in what might be contained on the device’s storage. It could be the location of secret missile bunkers or your Aunt Fanny’s Spotted Dick recipe; it is all the same to us – it just needs destroying completely and forever! We, like most disposal companies, are very good at that. In the forty, yes forty, years I have been in the IT recycling industry, there has never been a data breach from any company I am/was involved with. Something worth shouting about, I feel. Seriously, don’t let data concerns cloud your recycling judgment. If the recycler you use has even a modicum of common sense, then data security will be a top priority. We need to talk about Kevin Who is Kevin? Kevin is your end user. You have furnished him with a laptop and a mobile phone. The mobile phone has been locked with a passcode and iCloud lock, and the laptop has MDM policies applied. Lucky old Kevin is getting two new devices this month, along MDM locks, the bane of my life! I get the requirement – data security is clearly vital – but my heart sinks every time I see a laptop, mobile phone or tablet that has MFM, FRP or Apple security, as it renders the device nothing more than an expensive doorstop or paperweight! Here at Surplex UK Limited we process over 1,000 mobile devices a month and I think it is fair to say that around 75% of these are digitally locked one way or another. This causes us a major headache. We try very hard to work to the WEEE Directive which places a huge emphasis on recycling through reuse. But a locked device cannot be reused. Instead, it becomes a recycling deficit – a blot on the planet’s CO2e targets. Let’s talk about money A locked device is worthless; it costs us more to collect and process than we can recover financially. Some might think that’s just our tough luck. And maybe it is. But what about the environment – should that be treated with the same disdain? I am not being greedy, but if a device is not locked there is an opportunity for Surplex UK Limited to realise greater value from the asset. This also benefits the previous owner as an unlocked modern(ish) laptop, tablet or phone can be an opportunity for organisations to recoup some value from asset disposition Mark Willis, Managing Director of Surplex UK, explains why MDM locks are a growing problem for WEEE compliance MDM locks: a challenge for WEEE compliance OPINION Mark Willis is Managing Director of Surplex UK Limited and has been involved with IT recycling since the mid-80s, before it was really a thing! Operating throughout London, the Home Counties, the Midlands and other parts of the UK, Surplex UK provides first-class Secure Asset Disposal and IT recycling. www.surplex.co.uk
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