5 Common E-Waste Mistakes Companies Make (and How to Avoid Them)

23 Sep, 2025

5 Common E-Waste Mistakes Companies Make (and How to Avoid Them)

The United Nations estimates that over $62 billion worth of materials is lost each year from e-waste that isn’t properly recovered. Unfortunately, even in 2025, e-waste management is still an afterthought. The priority for most companies is buying the next round of laptops, servers, or handheld devices; meanwhile, the retired gear piles up in closets or gets shipped to a recycler with no real tracking. 

The fact is that managing electronics at the end of their life is just as important as managing them at the start. The mismanagement of e-waste does nothing to help the environment and leads to wasted money, data risks, and missed opportunities.

The following five mistakes show why so many e-waste management programs stall and how to avoid repeating them.

E-Waste Mistake 1: Treating Devices as Trash

Throwing electronics into the waste stream is common, but it’s also one of the most common e-waste mistakes. This is because sending e-waste to a landfill or incinerating old devices releases toxins that are deadly to people and the environment, and shredding everything without review discards parts that could be reused.

How to avoid it:

• Set up IT asset disposition (ITAD) programs to evaluate every device for reuse or resale before recycling.
• Treat returns, recalls, and warranty claims as inputs to value recovery, not trash.
• Commit to ensuring zero e-waste reaches landfills.

E-Waste Mistake 2: Stockpiling Retired IT Assets

Many companies avoid disposal out of fear of data breaches. This reservation may or may not be valid, but this approach to waste results in old laptops and servers gathering dust in storerooms while their resale value evaporates. In addition, the longer the assets sit, the greater the financial and security risk. Guidance from NIST (SP 800-88) makes clear that secure erasure or destruction is the only way to protect sensitive data.

How to avoid it:

• Arrange prompt pickup of decommissioned gear.
• Require certified data destruction with serial-level tracking.
• Demand certificates of destruction tied to each asset for audit purposes.

E-Waste Mistake 3: Relying on Too Many Vendors

One vendor for recycling, another for resale, and then another for transportation — this patchwork approach creates confusion, making it difficult to determine where the waste products actually end up. It also often results in reporting gaps, forcing internal teams to waste time chasing paperwork across multiple contractors.

How to avoid it:

• Use a single reporting platform to track results across all locations.
• Require clear accountability to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
• Consolidate all e-waste streams under one partner that manages collection, repair, resale, and recycling.

E-Waste Mistake 4: Ignoring Compliance and Reporting

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, unsafe handling of electronics leads to harm to both human health and the environment. This is because electronics contain hazardous materials, and improper e-waste management can bring regulatory fines and reputational harm. However, even when organizations take the effort to dispose of their e-waste properly, they often fail to maintain documentation that proves compliance, leaving them exposed when auditors or regulators request evidence.

How to avoid it:

• Require downstream vendors to comply with international rules like the Basel Convention.
• Keep certificates of destruction, recycling weights, and material recovery reports.
• Maintain audit-ready files that link outcomes to specific assets.

E-Waste Mistake 5: Skipping Repair and Refurbishment

The truth is: Refurbishment is often the fastest way to reduce waste and recover costs.

However, far too many products that could be repaired and given a second chance are being scrapped. Besides missing out on resale revenue, companies spend more on replacements, undermining customer satisfaction by failing to honor the potential of returns. 

How to avoid it:

• Prioritize refurbishment over recycling when safe and practical.
• Work with partners that specialize in high-volume repair and resale channels.
• Establish grading systems so teams can sort items quickly into repair, resale, or recycle categories.

Rethinking E-Waste Management with Close the Loop

E-waste is often overlooked, but the mistakes associated with its handling cost companies more than they realize. Each misstep can lead to lost value, increased risk, or missed targets. Avoiding these mistakes requires treating electronics not as garbage, but as managed assets with a second life.

Close the Loop helps companies across North America achieve this shift. With secure ITAD, nationwide collection, large-scale refurbishment, and a zero landfill guarantee, we turn retired devices into recovered value while ensuring compliance at every step.

When e-waste management is done right, nothing is wasted — not the material, not the data security, and definitely not the opportunity. Connect with us today to manage e-waste right.