Sustainability is important to protecting our planet. Today, some businesses are using technology to make our planet more sustainable, meeting the demands of our current environmental challenges. When you think recycle, you think cardboard, paper boxes or cans, but recycling computer systems is equally as important in protecting our planet. Technology like computers and smart phones are difficult to recycle and even more harmful to the environment. Luckily Apple’s sustainability minded Daisy, is one of many innovative creations that can curb these excesses and find ways to break down and re- purpose.
The dismantling Robot
Daisy can break down an iPhone including removing all precious metals and valuable components. The robot, Daisy, can recover valuable and precious metals such as gold, silver, aluminum and copper from 9 different iPhone models and can dismantle up to 200 iPhones per hour. These materials and components are extremely problematic to extract and environmentally-unfriendly. According to Apple, traditional recycling processes are unable to extract what Daisy can, and the metals that are extracted are of a high quality.
Papers to Notebooks
Another innovative recycling technology is being employed by Misprint Co, a company that takes unwanted business papers and recycles them into notebooks. Used or colored printed sheets were previously viewed as unusable, but Misprint Co innovation has found a winning use for what is generally considered a second tier material. The company accepts one-sided, non-sensitive information papers from businesses as well as a large range of organizations, and the papers are transformed into beautiful notebooks.
Clothes to products
In the textile industry, some innovators are combining sustainability with social purpose. Clothes made from sweatshops that lead to enormous waste in landfills, are being re-purposed and recycled into quality handmade products. Some of the products include rugs, messengers bags and table linens. The recycle process involves removing buttons and zippers and turning it into the finished products.
At BSC Solutions Group, we do what we can to help the environment. When our clients are replacing computer equipment we provide the option to ensure the equipment ends up at a proper recycling facility. For desktops, notebooks, and servers, we perform an electronic erase of all hard drives before disposal to protect your corporate data from being exposed. Click on the Environment tab here for more on our efforts.