Hong Kong Guidelines for the Compliance of Enterprises in Disposing of Scrap Computers and Equipment and Replacing Them with Recycled Ones - Door-to-door Collection

Hong Kong Enterprise Guidelines for Recycling and Disposal of Scrapped Computers and Equipment in Compliance with Environmental Regulations and Data Security Standards

During the digital upgrade and equipment renewal process of Hong Kong enterprises, the recycling and disposal of scrapped computers and office equipment must strictly follow local environmental protection regulations and data security standards, taking into account resource recycling, information security protection, and compliance with business operations. The following are the standardized processing procedures and core norms:

I. Pre-recovery Preparation and Compliance Verification (Compliant with Hong Kong's "Waste Disposal Ordinance")

1. Equipment Inventory and Ledger Registration: Before scrapping equipment, enterprises need to conduct a comprehensive inventory of the computers (desktops, laptops), servers, printers, etc. of the office equipment, record the equipment model, serial number, purchase date, functional status, and storage medium information (such as the number and capacity of hard drives), and establish an electronic ledger as required by the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, clearly defining the source, reason for scrapping, and disposal destination of the equipment. The ledger should be retained for at least 3 years for future reference.

2. Identification and Separation of Hazardous Components: Specially inspect the equipment for hazardous components, separately sort out lithium batteries (built-in batteries of laptops, external power supplies), circuit boards with lead soldering, display screens with excessive mercury content, etc., mark and store them separately in accordance with the requirements of the "Waste Battery Ordinance", to avoid mixing with ordinary electronic waste and reduce subsequent processing risks.

3. Internal Data Backup and Notification: Before recycling, enterprises need to remind employees to complete the backup of important business data and employee information, clearly defining the responsibility boundary for data destruction. If it involves customer privacy or sensitive business information, a data security disposal agreement must be signed in accordance with the requirements of the Hong Kong "Personal Data (Privacy)" Ordinance.

II. Data Security Destruction (Compliant with the Supervision Standards of the Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner's Office)

The enterprise's confidential and customer data stored in scrapped computers and office equipment need to undergo irreversible destruction procedures to prevent information leakage:

• Mechanical Hard Disk (HDD): Use physical crushing (crushed particles ≤ 5 millimeters) or high-intensity demagnetization (magnetic field strength ≥ 15,000 Gauss) to completely destroy the magnetic structure of the disk, ensuring that the data cannot be recovered;

• Solid State Drive (SSD), USB drives, etc. Flash memory media: Use professional data destruction software for at least 3 times of overwrite (using random binary data) or disassemble the storage chips and physically crush them to avoid residual data on the flash memory chips;

• Built-in cache, motherboard chips of all-in-one computers, laptops: Perform data clearing operations simultaneously, record the destruction process (including videos, photos) in detail, and form a "Data Destruction Compliance Report", signed and confirmed by both the enterprise and the recycling party.

III. Professional Disassembly and Material Classification (Adapted to Hong Kong Processing Site Specifications)

1. Disassembly Site and Qualification Requirements: Disassembly must be carried out in a specialized workshop registered with the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, and the recycling enterprise must hold a "Waste Disposal License", be equipped with dust purification, exhaust gas treatment, and leak prevention facilities; operators must wear anti-static gloves, goggles, and dust masks and undergo professional training before starting work.

2. Standardized Disassembly Process: Follow the step-by-step operation of "external components → storage media → core components → hazardous waste":

◦ Remove the equipment casing, keyboard, screen, etc., separate the metal casing (steel, aluminum alloy) from the plastic components (ABS, PC materials);

◦ Take out all storage media (hard disks, SSDs, memory), send them to the final processing area for the final treatment;

◦ Disassemble the motherboard, CPU, graphics card, power module, etc., separate the chips containing precious metals (gold, silver, palladium) from the circuit board substrate;

◦ Extract lithium batteries, mercury-containing screens, lead-containing circuit boards, etc., and put them into dedicated explosion-proof and leak-proof containers.

3. Material Classification Standards: The disassembled materials are classified according to the Hong Kong recycling industry specifications:

◦ Metal category: steel shell, aluminum alloy bracket, copper heat sink, copper core of cables, precious metals in circuit boards;

◦ Plastic category: shell, keyboard keycaps, fan blades and other plastic components;

◦ Electronic component category: fully functional CPUs, memory, power modules (reusable after testing);

◦ Hazardous waste category: lithium batteries, lead-containing circuit boards, mercury-containing display screens;

◦ Non-recyclable category: severely damaged and valueless residue waste.

IV. Harmless Disposal and Resource Reuse (Compliant with Hong Kong Environmental Policies)

1. Compliance disposal of hazardous waste: Hazardous waste such as lithium batteries and lead-containing circuit boards need to be handled by institutions holding the Hong Kong "Hazardous Waste Disposal License":

◦ Lithium batteries undergo professional discharge and disassembly, and the lithium, cobalt, nickel, etc. are recovered as precious metals. After harmless treatment, pollution to soil and water sources is avoided;

◦ Electronic waste containing lead and mercury is removed of harmful substances through high-temperature smelting and chemical precipitation processes, and is recycled after meeting the standards, in line with the Hong Kong "Air Pollution Control Ordinance" and "Water Pollution Control Ordinance".

2. Resource recovery processing path:

◦ Metal materials after cleaning, sorting, and smelting purification can be supplied as recycled raw materials to local electronic manufacturing in Hong Kong or compliant re-export, in line with the Hong Kong "Circular Recycling Industry Development Blueprint";

◦ Functionally complete electronic components (such as CPU, memory, power) after testing and refurbishment can be used in industrial control, second-hand equipment assembly, etc. (must comply with Hong Kong electronic equipment compliance standards);

◦ Plastic materials after crushing, modification, and granulation processing are used to produce non-food contact plastic products, improving resource utilization.

3. Disposal of non-recyclable waste: Waste residues without recycling value need to be handed over to the designated waste transfer station by the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, undergo solidification treatment, and be disposed of at a compliant landfill or incineration plant to ensure compliance with emissions standards.

V. Core Compliance Points for Hong Kong Enterprises' Recycling and Processing

• Recycling enterprises need to have the "Waste Disposal License" and "Hazardous Waste Collection and Transportation License" issued by the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, and complete the electronic waste recycling filing with the Industrial and Trade Department;

• Equipment transportation needs to use vehicles that comply with the Hong Kong "Road Traffic Safety Ordinance", and hazardous waste transportation needs to be equipped with professional escorts and marked with hazardous waste transportation signs;

• Enterprises need to retain complete recycling processing vouchers (including ledgers, data destruction reports, disposal agreements), and cooperate with the regular inspections by the Environmental Protection Department and the Privacy Commissioner's Office;

• It is prohibited to illegally re-export or dump un-harmlessly treated electronic waste, and violators will face fines and legal liability from the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department.

Mainland phone: 13049844111

Email address: 13049844111@163.com

Hong Kong phone: 852-52664790, Liangji Recycling and Reuse Co., Ltd. We look forward to your call and jointly embark on a new chapter of environmental protection and value coexistence!

Liangji Recycling and Reuse has obtained international standards certifications such as "Quality Management System (ISO 9001)", "Environmental Management System (ISO 14001)", and "Information Security Management System (ISO 27001)". Safe, regular, and professional - we look forward to your call and jointly embark on a new chapter of environmental protection and value coexistence!