It is hard to believe that this past month marks our one-year anniversary of the launch of Goodwill E-cycle, our residential and commercial electronics recycling business. Looking back on this fantastic journey, it’s remarkable to see the tremendous growth and value we have delivered in such a brief time.
The responsible recycling and reuse of precious components and metals from equipment that is no longer needed is critical to making sure it never ends up in a landfill and the well-being of our planet. This process also protects the information of our donors through the destruction of their hard drives by completely erasing any data on the drives that are reused. All this is enabled by providing meaningful employment and work experiences to individuals in our community.
Although it has only been a year, I am amazed at the impact! In that time, E-cycle has processed over seven million pounds of electronic equipment, making sure that all the material is properly handled and diverted from our landfill. In addition, we have developed over 50 relationships with wonderful businesses and school districts across the region, processing their used electronic equipment and ensuring the destruction of their data. Many of the items we receive still have life left in them. While making sure no data remains on the technology, we refurbish over 4,000 pounds of computer equipment every month. This equipment is then sold through our Ebay e-commerce marketplace, giving second life to equipment and providing great bargains to our shoppers.
A critical success factor to this growth and success has been the use of technology to manage the business from start to finish. From the moment a donor’s equipment reaches our door, information about it is captured and tracked throughout the recycling process. This enables us to know what equipment we have and how it should be processed through the recycling operation. For me, ensuring that no personal data remains on any equipment is our top priority. E-cycle uses the latest software available to erase all personal information on any type of computer disk drive that we receive. For our commercial customers, we provide a Certificate of Destruction that provides an audit record certifying that the drives were either erased or destroyed. Finally, for any computer equipment that is refurbished and sold online, technology is used to capture images of the product and automatically post the products on our e-commerce channel.
We are so excited to see the growth in this business and where it will take us in the future. Our tremendous growth and customer peace of mind is only possible through the thoughtful integration of technology into our business operations. Stay tuned to see what is next!
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