Certificate of Destruction
What is it and why do you need one?
Upon completion of the destruction of our client’s electronics, Back Thru The Future provides a Certificate of Destruction. This document shows the client details, the services, our NAID AAA certification and license numbers. Along with the Destruction Certificate, our clients receive an Affidavit of Destruction with additional details about the devices and a photograph of the final shredded material.
Our client’s documents are available 24/7 in our Compliance Library usually within 24-48 hours after job completion.
A certificate of destruction accomplishes two things:
- It is your proof that your devices were destroyed in an environmentally compliant manner by a certified electronics recycler.
- The proof of destruction satisfies regulatory and audit requirements regarding various privacy laws.
The EPA encourages all electronics recyclers to become certified by demonstrating to an accredited, independent third-party auditor that they meet specific standards to safely recycle and manage electronics. A certificate of destruction by a certified electronic recycler provides the following benefits:
- Advance best management practices
- Offer a way to assess the environmental, worker health, and security practices of entities managing used electronics
- Are based on strong environmental standards that maximize reuse and recycling, minimize exposure to human health or the environment, ensure safe management of materials by downstream handlers, and require destruction of all data on used electronics
Certified electronics recyclers have demonstrated through audits and other means that they continually meet specific high environmental standards and safely manage used electronics. Once certified, continual oversight by the independent accredited certifying body holds the recycler to high environmental and safety standards.
Twenty-five U.S. states currently have electronics recycling laws. The National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER) developed an interactive map that helps to find out detailed information on state regulations, including a brief summary and link to the laws as well as key dates.
Privacy Laws
There are a number of federal, state, and county data privacy laws and regulations that protect you, your employees, and your customers. These include the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Economic Espionage Act (EEA), Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPAA, HITECH, the Patriot Act, and the Safe Harbor Framework.
One infraction can result in fines worth millions of dollars, lawsuits, and bad press. A certificate of destruction from a certified recycler is your proof that your computers, hard drives, back up drives, and other electronic equipment was securely destroyed and that your organization is using an electronic recycler that meets or exceeds all required security laws.
NAID AAA Certification
All NAID AAA Certified service providers are subject to regularly schedule, onsite audits by trained, accredited security professionals. In addition, random, unannounced audits are structured so NAID AAA Certified operators will not know when they will be audited next. Accredited auditors review employee background screening and training, compliance with written procedures, access controls, operational security, destruction equipment, and confidentiality agreements.
All data protection regulations require customers to perform initial due diligence and ongoing monitoring of data destruction service providers. Because it is designed specifically to verify and monitor regulatory compliance as well as security best practices, requiring NAID AAA Certification® of secure data destruction service providers fulfills the customer’s regulatory obligation. With over 1,000 NAID AAA Certified locations available globally, it is far and away the most recognized and accepted data destruction operation available.
