Frequently Asked Questions about Back Thru The Future

Many of the more frequently asked questions about Back Thru The Future can be found here. If you have a question regarding the destruction and disposal of electronics, contact us anytime.

Will you pay me for my equipment?
Can I deliver my equipment to your recycling facility?
Will you remove my hard drives from my computers and destroy them?
Do I need to package my equipment prior to pick up?
Will you take office furniture?
Will you take cell phones and PDAs?
Do you need an accurate inventory of the equipment to be recycled?
Do I need to prepay for services?
Will you provide references?
Can we inspect your facility?
Do you provide environmental compliance and data destruction certification?
Can you provide evidence of proper insurance coverages?
Can we be named as Co-insured on your policies?
Do you provide services outside of the Northeast?

If you have additional questions about Back Thru The Future, please contact us.

1. Will you pay me for my equipment?

Back Thru The Future (BTTF) does not purchase used computer equipment. We are a recycling company and charge for recycling services. There is both an environmental and data security risk when dealing with a company that is in the business of reselling used computers. Their profitability is positively impacted by minimizing their costs.

BTTF has seen resellers take short cuts to both proper environmental and data security handling practices to improve their bottom line. This practice puts you and your company at risk.

2. Can I deliver my equipment to your recycling facility?

Yes, you may. However, we do need to assign you a project quote and schedule a time to deliver.

3. Will you remove my hard drives from my computers and destroy them?

Yes, BTTF provides this service either at your location or here at our facility. We audit the project and provide you with both the serial number and description of the computers as well as the serial numbers of any hard drives.

4. Do I need to package my equipment prior to pick up?

That would depend on the media type. We prefer hard drives, tape, CDS etc. to be loose. They should be removed from static bags, bubble wrap, plastic casing etc. and collected in one location. BTTF has specialized secure containers with locks and seals designed for secure transportation back to our facility.

Prior to our arrival, larger equipment may be palletized if you have the means. This can be discussed with your client services representative.

5. Will you take office furniture?

No, our expertise is in electronics recycling.

6. Will you take cell phones and PDAs?

BTTF accepts all types of electronics and electronic data media for secure destruction and environmentally compliant recycling. We charge the same price to shred and recycle a cell phone as we charge for a hard drive.

7. Do you need an accurate inventory of the equipment to be recycled?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions about Back Thru The Future. To provide you with a meaningful project quote, we ask that you give us an accurate description of the types of equipment to be recycled and an approximation of the quantity involved. We need to be able to determine the resources necessary to make the equipment pick up, both from a vehicle size, and a man power stand point.

Although it would be great to have an accurate inventory to quote from we know that isn’t always practical or possible. Pictures speak a thousand words and are very helpful, alleviating much of the headache of attempting to describe equipment over email so we appreciate any you can provide.

A BTTF client services rep may determine a site visit is appropriate before quoting your project.

BTTF project quotes specify the cost to recycle for one unit of a product type, for example a computer, printer or monitor. The price will always be the same and only vary by the actual quantity recycled.

BTTF provides a detailed ‘EPA Audit’ Exhibit for every project we perform. This exhibit specifies each item of equipment received with its manufacturer, model, serial number, weight and individual unit recycling cost. It also identifies any electronic media that the equipment may have. The EPA audit report is totaled and is exactly reflected on your invoice.

8. Do I need to prepay for services?

No. Once you’ve accepted our quote, with your company’s purchase order or verbal authorization, we will send you our new client onboarding package. In this you will find credit card authorization forms and accounts payable information necessary to complete our transaction.

Please note that all new clients will be required to complete and return this information prior to dispatching onsite field service technicians.

9. Will you provide references?

Absolutely, we insist! BTTF is very proud of our excellent reputation and the loyal support of our 1000+ clients.

10. Can we inspect your facility?

Absolutely, we insist! Vetting your downstream vendors is a must!
This is a great opportunity for you to witness the inner workings of a NJ DEP Class D Licensed Recycling facility. Our facility is monitored and secure. Your visit needs to be scheduled in advance and proper picture identification is required to enter our facility. You will be escorted through the facility for security and safety reasons.

Due to client privacy issues certain areas of our facility can only be viewed from behind secure fencing.

11. Do you provide environmental compliance and data destruction certification?

Yes, we do. This is the heart of the value of BTTF’s services. We are legally authorized by both the Federal EPA and NJ State DEP to provide environmental compliance certification as a licensed ‘Universal Waste Destination Facility’. This certification is a legal document in all 50 States.

We are one of a very small number of licensed electronic recycling facilities that is also a NAID AAA certified secure data destruction facility. The NAID certification provides the required ‘vendor due diligence’ for data destruction certification. We are also certified as ISO 9001 (quality) and 14001 (environmental) compliant.

No one in the computer recycling industry has better documented qualifications than we do.

12. Can you provide evidence of proper insurance coverage?

Yes, we can provide a Certificate Of Insurance (COI) upon request. We not only provide basic insurance coverage for liability and WC, but we also have $5m excess liability, which also covers both E&O, Pollution and Employee Dishonesty coverages.

13. Can we be named as Co-insured on your policies?

Yes, upon written request.

14. Do you provide services outside of the Northeast?

Yes, we do. We have a network of vetted service providers located throughout the US. They act as subcontractors and are invisible to you. All services are provided under our management and direction and all project documentation is ours.