E-cycling Terminology

E-cycling:

End of Life (EoL): When a device has reached the conclusion of its useful value, it is deemed to be at End of Life status. At this point, the device is prepared for data destruction, shredding, and recycling.

Demanufacturing: More specific than just recycling, demanufacturing implies a careful disintegration of computer components, preserving their structure/use so that they may be repurposed.

Data Sanitization: A more specific wording of the process of Data Destruction. Rather than destroying the data, sanitizing a device implies complete erasure, certified by NAID.

Decommission: Wipes all the data from all folders, including backup drives. In decommissioning, a business application or system is rendered unusable on a device. It is more specific than data destruction, as it only affects software made or used by a business.

IT Asset Recovery: During the process of disposition, asset recovery reclaims value from recycled devices, whether that be through salvaging precious metals or still-usable components such as motherboards, CPUs, or hard drives.

Closed-Loop Recycling: A form of environmental protection in which the components/materials of an electronic device are recovered for reuse in the production of a new device.

Circular Economy: Similar to closed-loop recycling, this is a systemic approach to sustainability in which the materials that comprise electronic devices are constantly recycled in the production of new ones. In a perfect circular economy, no material in a computer is discarded, being instead constantly reused in new, more advanced hardware.

ITAD Strategy: A careful policy of disposing hardware with respect to environmental concerns and sustainability. Companies providing ITAD services should exhibit a clear ITAD strategy in order to guarantee that a device is properly disposed of.

Market:

Channel Partner: Refers to a company partnering with a manufacturer to only market the products, services, and technologies developed by that manufacturer.

End-User: The individual that makes use of a particular device. It can refer to a singular, non-affiliated person, or an employee operating a company device.

Supply Chain Management: The supervision of the network between a company and its suppliers. Companies providing supply chain management reduce costs and eliminate redundancies involved in this arrangement.

End-to-End Visibility: This refers to a company’s guarantee for total transparency in their operations. This cultivates trust and accountability between a company and its clients, as their business procedures are made open for analysis.

Market Liquidity: Refers to the speed with which a company can buy or market a product without dramatic loss to the product’s original retail value.

White Label Equipment: This term refers to general technology that can be rebranded by marketers to force the appearance of original manufacturing. It often includes software as well, made generic but capable of sale under a new brand.

E-cycling / E-waste:

Basel Action Network (BAN) e-Steward: An organization committed to global sustainability that awards certificates to e-cycling companies that comply with their standards of disposal and recovery.

R2 (Responsible Recycling): Another organization that awards similar merits, albeit with less requirements to earn verification than BAN e-Steward.

Downstream: Companies providing ITAD services wild demanufacture a product but not recycle its parts. Processing a device downstream refers to transporting it along the recycling chain to another company that performs the recycling functions.

Trade-ins: Many large-name tech firms offer trade-in value for retired devices, an incentive to deposit hardware with responsible vendors before it ends up in landfills and becomes e-waste.

Polybrominated Flame Retardants: A mixture of synthetic chemicals that are often found in electronic devices. They are one of the major threats posed to the environment through the improper disposal of e-waste.

Components:

Peripherals: Extraneous hardware that operates inputs and outputs. A mouse, for example, is considered input because it takes an outside action (a click) to affect the computer. A printer, on the other hand, exemplifies output, as it takes an internal function to produce an external product.

End-Point Device: An electronic device with internet-capable hardware, such as computers, laptops, smart phones, and tablets.

Lifecycle:

Hardware Asset Management: Companies that provide IT lifecycle services also oversee the maintenance of hardware assets throughout their lifespan. This diverts responsibility for a device’s functionality to a separate, more knowledgeable company.

Factory Recertified Drives: This refers to a pre-owned hard drive that has undergone data destruction and has been restored to the conditions of its exit from a factory. It has been refurbished and prepared for reuse in the technology market.

Supplier Performance Index: A method of analyzing the usefulness of a business’ supplier. Companies providing lifecycle services will assist a business in optimizing the use of suppliers through scrutiny of that supplier’s functionality, ensuring cost-effectiveness.

Manifest Reports: A subset of lifecycle services in which a report of inventory is generated to physically record all of the items owned or leased by a business.

Vendor Agnostic: Antithetical to channel partners, a company that identifies as vendor-agnostic holds no particular loyalty to the products by one developer over another.

Audit and Audit Trail: Another form of manifest reports, audits and audit trails provide tangible evidence of the treatment of hardware. It is essential in the cooperation of a business and their lifecycle service company, as it maintains accountability by recording every transaction.

Scalability: A necessary characteristic of a lifecycle service company, its scalability refers to its ability to continue to serve a business that expands and requires wider, more in-depth service as a result.

Concepts:

Cloud Computing: This refers to the implementation of computer system resources, such as storage and processing power, through the use of the Cloud and without direct management by the user.

Software as a Service (SaaS): Companies that provide Cloud storage market online software capable of storing information on their own devices, rather than those owned by the services. Dropbox and GoogleDrive are two examples of software marketed as a service.

Cloud Migration: Whereas business would primarily store relevant data on personally owned devices, recently there has been a shift towards soliciting software as a service to provide storage capabilities. In short, this term refers to the mass relocation of an entire company’s infrastructure and database to a Cloud service.

Cloud Vendor: A company that sells SaaS or computing infrastructure that operates through the Cloud can be considered a Cloud Vendor.

Open Compute Project: A project advocating the dissolution of proprietary IT infrastructure, similar to the open source movement. They are physical manifestations of Software as a Service, and provide services similar to those offered by IT lifecycle companies. They oversee the technical aspects of a business’ operations, and as a result are highly sensitive and protected establishments.

Data Center: Data centers are facilities that harbor an organization's entire IT infrastructure by providing storage and processing power.

Open Source Movement: A movement towards the implementation of open-source licenses for major software. It is viewed as a push for global collaboration by making available useful software for public use.

Open-Source Hardware: A subset of the above movement, this term refers to the push towards genericizing hardware for massive, wide-scale use.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII): Any information that an end-user would not want readily available for open viewing. It includes bank details, credit card information, and social security numbers. When discussing the necessity of data sanitization, the compromise of PII is often used as an argument in support.

Internet of Things (IoT): This refers to a network of related computing devices that maintain the ability to transfer data to and from each other without direct manipulation by a human, either to another human or to a computer. For example, the burgeoning concept of a ‘smart home’ exemplifies the network, as this comprises appliances that all communicate with one another.

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM): A developer that manufactures electronic devices using components purchased from separate organizations. An OEM represents one stage of the supply chain, as they implement separate components into new, functioning hardware.

Reverse Logistics: Related to circular economy, reverse logistics refers to the remanufacturing and/or refurbishment of retired devices for further remarketing and reuse. In short, it applies to the total reuse of materials, taken from defunct devices, in the production of new, advanced ones.