Recycling the waste of electrical and electronic equipment
Pelttari, Johanna (2019)
2019
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024052113773
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024052113773
Tiivistelmä
The waste of electrical and electronic equipment is one the fastest growing waste streams in the European Union. Such waste often contains materials and components that due to their hazardous content may cause environmental and health problems if not managed safely. Furthermore, a growing amount of electrical waste contains personal data of the user. According to the European Union legislation, personal data is an aspect which should be considered carefully in recycling process of the equipment in order to protect individual rights and to avoid sensitive information entering to a public domain where it could cause harm. However, destroying personal data from electrical and electronic equipment is a complex process.
The objective of this thesis was to gain understanding about the recycling of the waste of electrical and electronic equipment including the data safety concerning the recycling of such equipment. The aim was to find out, how the recycling of the waste of electrical and electronic equipment and data safety in recycling is implemented in the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District. The research was conducted as a qualitative research and the chosen research method was structured interviewing. People interviewed for the research included seven recycling specialists from the healthcare facilities of the largest municipalities by population of the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District.
The research results provide information about how the recycling and data protection is implemented in the healthcare facilities and what are the areas of improvement. The research results showed that the equipment base is constantly renewing and evolving. Consequently, waste electrical and electronic equipment is a large waste stream especially in the largest municipalities’ healthcare facilities. The research found out that the recycling was arranged mainly through a waste management company or through a property maintenance. All the sensitive information that a discarded equipment might contain were erased before the equipment were transported or picked up. The recycling was considered smooth in most cases. However, improvement suggestions were received. Improvements could be reached with having a one reliable third party that would handle the waste collection from start to finish including data safety aspect of recycling. Furthermore, since the recycling methods varied throughout the hospital district, a possible improvement could be reached by ensuring the same rules and guidance as well as the same safety standards concerning recycling throughout the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District.
The objective of this thesis was to gain understanding about the recycling of the waste of electrical and electronic equipment including the data safety concerning the recycling of such equipment. The aim was to find out, how the recycling of the waste of electrical and electronic equipment and data safety in recycling is implemented in the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District. The research was conducted as a qualitative research and the chosen research method was structured interviewing. People interviewed for the research included seven recycling specialists from the healthcare facilities of the largest municipalities by population of the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District.
The research results provide information about how the recycling and data protection is implemented in the healthcare facilities and what are the areas of improvement. The research results showed that the equipment base is constantly renewing and evolving. Consequently, waste electrical and electronic equipment is a large waste stream especially in the largest municipalities’ healthcare facilities. The research found out that the recycling was arranged mainly through a waste management company or through a property maintenance. All the sensitive information that a discarded equipment might contain were erased before the equipment were transported or picked up. The recycling was considered smooth in most cases. However, improvement suggestions were received. Improvements could be reached with having a one reliable third party that would handle the waste collection from start to finish including data safety aspect of recycling. Furthermore, since the recycling methods varied throughout the hospital district, a possible improvement could be reached by ensuring the same rules and guidance as well as the same safety standards concerning recycling throughout the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District.