Technology equipment often contains parts which cannot simply be thrown away. Proper disposal of equipment is both environmentally responsible and often required by law. In addition, hard drives, USB drives, CD-ROMs and other storage media contain various kinds of CrowdFiber data, some of which is considered sensitive. In order to protect our constituents' data, all storage mediums must be properly erased before being disposed of. However, simply deleting or even formatting data is not considered sufficient. When deleting files or formatting a device, data is marked for deletion, but is still accessible until being overwritten by a new file. Therefore, special tools must be used to securely erase data prior to equipment disposal.

The purpose of this policy is to define the guidelines for the disposal of technology equipment and components owned by CrowdFiber.

Technology Equipment Disposal

  • When technology assets have reached the end of their useful life they should be sent to the CTO's office for proper disposal.
  • The CTO or their designate will securely erase all storage mediums in accordance with current industry best practices.
  • All data including, all files and licensed software shall be removed from equipment using disk sanitizing software that cleans the media overwriting each and every disk sector of the machine with zero-filled blocks, meeting Department of Defense standards.
  • No computer or technology equipment may be sold to any individual other than through the processes identified in this policy.
  • No computer equipment should be disposed of via skips, dumps, landfill etc. Electronic recycling bins may be periodically placed in locations around CrowdFiber. These can be used to dispose of equipment. The CTO or their designate will properly remove all data prior to final disposal.
  • All electronic drives must be degaussed or overwritten with a commercially available disk cleaning program. Hard drives may also be removed and rendered unreadable (drilling, crushing or other demolition methods).
  • Computer Equipment refers to desktop, laptop, tablet or netbook computers, printers, copiers, monitors, servers, handheld devices, telephones, cell phones, disc drives or any storage device, network switches, routers, wireless access points, batteries, backup tapes, etc.
  • The CTO or their designate will place a sticker on the equipment case indicating the disk wipe has been performed. The sticker will include the date and the initials of the technician who performed the disk wipe.
  • Technology equipment with non-functioning memory or storage technology will have the memory or storage device removed and it will be physically destroyed.

Employee Purchase of Disposed Equipment

  • Equipment which is working, but reached the end of its useful life to CrowdFiber, will be made available for purchase by employees.
  • A lottery system will be used to determine who has the opportunity to purchase available equipment.
  • Employees may purchase their office computer directly or “reserve” a system.
  • Finance and Information Technology will determine an appropriate cost for each item.
  • All purchases are final. No warranty or support will be provided with any equipment sold.
  • Any equipment not in working order or remaining from the lottery process will be donated or disposed of according to current environmental guidelines.
  • Prior to leaving CrowdFiber premises, all equipment must be removed from the Information Technology inventory system.