Hard Drive Destruction

What’s on your hard drive?  Aunt Emily’s Cream Cheese Cupcake Recipe?  Various documents and spreadsheets that were developed over the three or four years you have been using and storing information on that computer?  Maybe company proprietary information that you might have even forgotten where it was stored on the hard drive.  If you use your computer at all for personal use like accessing your bank statement or 401K account or even tax filing over the past several years, that information is stored almost forever.  Maybe you can’t find it because you don’t remember the file name, but believe me when I say this – SOMEONE CAN!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5VcWHP8UZ0

 What happens when you replace your computer?  Does your IT guy cart in the new computer, unplug the old computer, plug in the new and disappear around the corner with the old, never to be seen again files?  Do these files have a lot of information about you and your company that might be valuable to someone who knows how to extract that information better than you?  You are probably way too excited about the speed and capabilities of your new unit that by the time the old computer disappears around the corner, it is completely forgotten.  But what happens to the data?

Maybe the data is “deleted” by that IT professional before it is resold to someone in your office for her son’s personal use at college.  Maybe it was “erased” by strong magnetic currents (called degaussing) and “recycled”.  Maybe someone made a half hearted attempt to delete some of the files before sending it off to parts unknown for “destruction” or recycling.

Many companies and government agencies are becoming aware of the problem and are taking measures to solve it FOREVER!  What is the solution?  Shredding the hard drive to unusable small pieces.  Recovery of the gold, platinum, and other precious metals can still be accomplished by recyclers, but not the files and other confidential information!

Hard Drive Shredders are driving the shredding market.  HIPAA Laws require complete destruction of confidential material and banks are more and more concerned about identity theft.  Defense contractors have long been aware of the problems of a loose hard drive and demand complete destruction of not only old hard drives, but CD ROMs, DVDs or even floppy drives.  Be aware!  Or take the chance of being burnt but some unscrupulous hacker.  Want to see a hard drive shredder video?  See link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSQimXxL7wQ&feature=related

A Baler is a machine that compresses recyclable materials such as cardboard (OCC), shrink-wrap, foam, plastics, carpet, some aluminum or copper, and other non-ferrous materials. Balers typically are manufactured in two distinct types – vertical and horizontal.

Most vertical balers are called a downstroke baler because the ram descends from above the material to be compressed and moves downward against the bottom of the baler. A gate right above the door is lifted on a track to open the feed area to load the material. The gate must be closed in order for the ram to operate. Safety switches prevent the baler from operating with the gate open.

Most horizontal balers are center fed with the compression ram on one side of the feed opening and the bale is made by compressing the material against the other end of the baler. Horizontal balers are either closed end or open end. A horizontal closed end baler has a door that shuts and locks when making a bale. The open end horizontal baler uses the previous bale to compress against. Open end balers are manufactured in both manual tie and auto tie.

A manual tie baler (both vertical and horizontal) requires that after the baler has finished making the bale and the automatic shut off has shut down the baler, four (4) or five (5) wires be threaded around the bale to tie it off before the ram is allowed to go back to its’ original position. The auto-tie is exactly as it implies. It automatically ties off the finished bale.

A compactor is generally used for non-recyclables such as trash, pallets, produce other food items, and other materials destined to be trucked to a land fill. It comes in two distinct types – a stationary and a self-contained.

Waste haulers charge for the number of times (pulls) they pick up the compactor (whether stationary or self-contained) and the weight of the material to be emptied at the landfill. Since each “pull” is a fixed amount ($200-$300 each), a compactor reduces the volume of the trash approximately 4 to 1. This is where the savings of having a compactor lies. Reducing the number of “pulls” saves those fixed costs.

A self-contained compactor (above) has a single floor from the hopper through the container to prevent leakage of water and waste fluids like produce juices. This type of compactor is found at most grocery store facilities and is used to prevent the drainage of spoiled or rotting fruit and vegetables. As in the picture above, the loading hopper usually is set alongside the loading dock where it can be fed easily. When this container is emptied, the entire unit is disconnected from the power supply by removing the hydraulic lines from the compactor and loaded onto a “roll off” truck which hauls the entire compactor to the landfill and returns the empty compactor and reconnects to the hydraulic lines.

Self-contained compactors are rated according to the total amount of material that can be loaded into them before they need to be emptied. Most are 30 yard (meaning cubic yard) but there are 20, 25, 30, 35, 38 and 40 yard self-contained compactors.

Stationary compactors (pictured below) are named that because they remain stationary on the loading dock of the facility. These compactors are the ratcheted to a roll-off container of various sizes.

Stationary compactors are rated according to the amount of waste material that can be loaded into the compactor each time. Generally found in 2, 3, or 4 yard models, the size of the compaction chamber is determining rating factor.

The container that is attached to a stationary compactor can be either rented from your local waste hauler or bought from most equipment dealers. Containers are rated according the amount of material that can be loaded into each before they need to be hauled to the landfill. 20, 25, 30, 35 or 40 yard containers are the most common.

When the container is full, the waste hauler disconnects the stationary compactor and using a “roll-off” truck, loads the container and hauls to the landfill. When the container is returned, the waste hauler drops the container into place and re-connects it to the stationary compactor via the ratcheting system.

Always remember to check your container (whether self-contained or stationary) when it is returned occasionally. Because these are unloaded by opening the big door on the opposite end where the waste material is loaded and tipping the container until the material slides out, these containers are not always emptied completely. If the hauler charges for 5,000 lbs to be hauled away and brings back 500 lbs, you will be paying for that waste to be taken again next time. Spot check your “empty” container and save yourself paying for the same load again and again.