The need for businesses to adhere to environmental compliance rules issued by the government has impacted on levels of so-called e-waste.
This is according to comments made by chief executive officer of CloudBlue Ken Beyer, who said the market for electronic waste recycling is booming.
In an interview with SmartPlanet.com, the entrepreneur noted that 23 states in the US prevent electronics from going into landfill.
He stated: "Government regulation is happening pretty rapidly, on data security side and the environmental compliance side."
This means firms in a range of industries, including those that provide mechanical engineering services, have to be more careful with how they dispose of their waste.
Details of such procedures must be kept so that regulatory bodies can inspect them as an when they wish to.
CloudBlue specialises in the responsible and secure recycling of electronic waste from a variety of firms, ranging from small to large. It claims to have over 1,000 corporate and institutional customers. The firm also has 38 global company and partner locations, as well as a chain of custody security framework and online asset tracking portal.
Commenting on the e-waste issue, Mr Beyer said: "It's a huge problem and people didn't appreciate how big a problem it was."
He also revealed how his firm got started, noting: "We went to large companies and said, what do you do with your old stuff? And the answer always was, 'we have no idea'. So we've gone to them and said, 'Let us help you implement a standardized way to deal with electronics on a global basis'."
He went on to suggest that firms are keen to comply with environmental regulations and, on top of this, they are often fearful of security problems that arise from pieces of technology that are not disposed of properly.
The expert remarked: "People want to be environmental and people want to make sure they're not breaking the law, but most importantly, they want to protect their brand - through data security and making sure a laptop doesn't end up in a dumpster."
He added: "Our employees have been background-checked and drug tested and all that and they show up and pick up the material.
Mr Beyer also noted that one of the ways in which his firm deals with the objects it takes from firms such as those in the mechanical engineering sector is to reuse them.
They can sometimes be handed to schools and small businesses, or redeployed to customers.
Meanwhile, those devices or parts that do not fit into this category are recycled, or, as the businessman put it, "demanufactured" down into their commodities, like plastics, metals, circuit boards and glass.
The issue of responsibly treating old pieces of electronic equipment is getting more prominent in the business world and keeping a record of what happens to such items is sometimes necessary. This can be virtually impossible without an appropriate system being used in order to track the devices.
Govt environmental compliance rules are impacting on e-waste'