These days, even the average citizen has to worry about the disposal of hi-tech devices. Getting rid of laptops and mobile phones raises significant issues related to data security and environmental protection.

And when the problem is scaled up to the size of a company or a government department, the cost and risk of disposing of, or recycling, hardware can also scale.

35 years ago, the Chairman of fledgling ITAD (IT Asset Disposal) company, S2S Electronics, stood in a polytunnel packed with defunct computer hardware, and fully realised the size of the problem – and the scale of the opportunity.

Today, S2S Group, a Bramble Hub partner, employs 40 people at its Rotherham headquarters, with plans for growth of up to 30% soon.

S2S Group Headquarters

Today, unlike 35 years ago, there are numerous regulations related to the disposal of computer hardware.

> "We make a public commitment to meeting those targets and we have to provide evidence and publish results. We're not into greenwashing"

But as S2S Group Marketing Manager, Nathan Church, explains, the company strives to go far beyond its statutory duties. “We are trying to lead in terms of sustainability – we've signed up to the UN sustainable development goals [the UN sets out 17 goals]. We make a public commitment to meeting those targets and we have to provide evidence and publish results. We're not into greenwashing. The UN gives a star rating from one to five. We’re looking for at least a four-star rating.”

When S2S Group recycle, they achieve a rate in excess of 99%. And the company’s commitment to sustainability goes further still: “We’re looking at alternative power sources – we've installed solar, we’ve switched to electric forklift trucks. We intend to maintain our environmental leadership.”

Nathan explains the lengths that S2S Group goes to in order to ensure that data on the devices they received is non-recoverable. “We break down products and recycle where we can. We strip down storage devices. Security is our reason for being – data security is what we do. That begins with transportation, all the way to recycling or disposal. When it comes to data security, most people think about cyberthreats. We point out there’s a physical threat as well. We manage our customers’ assets to ensure data security. We have to gain our customers’ trust - GDPR breaches are very expensive!”

The company’s biggest revenue earners are data erasure and destruction, followed by device refurbishment. They also offer other services such as device registration and tracking, transportation of industrial batteries, and bulk installation of customers’ devices with a single, identical image.

As far as certifications are concerned, “We’re as certified as possible!” S2S Group is ADISA-certified (an ICT asset-recovery standard which is certified by the Information Commissioner).

When asked how the shift to cloud computing has affected their business, Nathan points out that in the short-term, this change has led to a need to dispose of more redundant assets, which have to be disposed of properly. “In the medium term, mobiles, laptops and tablets have a finite shelf-life and still need to be refurbished or recycled. Devices may have got smaller but they’re also more numerous – and that requires our tracking services. Some of our jobs aren’t even about disposal, they’re simply about cataloguing existing assets.”

S2S Group’s services can be purchased from Bramble Hub via frameworks: for full details please see their partner page.