Dive Brief:
- Data security experts are warning consumers about the dangers of recycling cell phones without eradicating data from the device prior to its disposal.
- Most of the 416,000 mobile phones discarded every day will wind up in a landfill, usually in another country. According to data compiled by Consumer Reports, 40% of discarded phones still contain important data.
- The CEO of Electronic Recyclers International, John Shegerian, pointed out that, without protocols put in place for the proper handling of e-waste, everyone is at risk for a data breach.
Dive Insight:
There's actually legislation working its way through Congress involving this very issue. In 2013, lawmakers introduced the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act into the House and Senate. The bill would serve to prohibit recycling companies in the U.S. from exporting electronic waste and would create waste management standards. But so far, the legislation has been stalled.
According to the National Center for Electronic Recycling, half of all U.S. states have put their own e-waste laws into place.