15 Nov Electronics Recycling Hampered by Data Protection Fears
According to a recent survey done by REPIC, as much as 69% of respondents in the UK said that they would rather hold on to their old devices rather than risk getting their personal information leaked.
Back in 2015, there were already an estimated 125 million discarded smartphones kept unused in UK homes, which is partly contributing to the scarcity of raw materials for electronics. Since the devices are relatively small and contain a lot of private information about its user, it is said that most consumers just prefer to keep them, rather than have them recycled.
REPIC CEO Mark Burrows-Smith said that the results of the survey show that there is a need for increased education on how users can safely remove their data from their devices. He added that while data can be deleted, devices cannot.
Source: Resource.co
