Published on February 2, 2022, Updated on February 2, 2022
Electronics Recycling Applications for Government Aeronautics in Washington
Adopting and sustaining cutting-edge electronics systems is more than a question of convenience for government and military aeronautic initiatives such as the United States Armed Forces or NASA. It is possible that it is a problem of national security. As a result, only a business with demonstrated experience in the appropriate handling of electronics, including secure data erasure, may be trusted to accept these sensitive goods. 1 Green Planet in Washington State has been in business in Southern California for over 20 years. Among our certificates are the following:
- ISO 14001
- R2
- DTSC #CAL00037491
- CEWID #11530
- EPA compliance
When it comes to recycling IT equipment, government aeronautics and military initiatives present distinct problems in Washington. Here are a few examples of them.
Data Centers in Washington State
Until recently, it was required to operate data centers in order to transmit, store, and manage electronic information for a computer network. Data center facilities host servers that handle data processing and other network-management duties, and they can consist of portions of buildings or entire buildings.
As of 2016, the federal government of the United States claimed to operate 10,584 data centers. The Department of Defense alone may have been in charge of 3,000 to 6,000 data centers. It was impossible to retain an exact count since the policy wording defining what constitutes and does not constitute a data center was constantly changing. What is clear is that the Department of Defense had at least double the number of data centers as any other government department.
The operation of data centers is costly in Washington. Each of the following costs hundreds of millions of dollars: facilities, labor, hardware, software, and power. Data centers are not particularly energy efficient due to the enormous quantities of electricity necessary to not only power the servers but also to operate the climate control system that protects them from overheating. Because of the number of data centers it operates, the Department of Defense was the greatest energy consumer in the United States in 2013.
Large-scale data centers are no longer required with the advent of cloud computing. Because of the expenses incurred by taxpayers in running them, an increasing number of government agencies are shutting data centers in favor of using cloud technology in their place. Though there are no particular numbers on how many DoD data centers have shuttered, the Government Accountability Office says that, as of 2015, 4,300 of the initial 10,584 facilities functioning around the country have closed.
As a result, there is an enormous quantity of electronic gear that must be recycled or destroyed, as well as an unimaginable amount of data that must be deleted from those servers and computers.
Decommissioned Aircraft
The issue of what to do with surplus military jets and other aircraft stretches back to the post-World War II era. When the war was done, over half of the roughly 300,000 aircraft manufactured for the United States Armed Forces were judged excess, more than what was required to defend the country during peacetime. Many of these planes were sent to storage and scrapping facilities, either to be held in reserve until they were required again, or to be destroyed and the usable components salvaged. These facilities are informally referred to as “boneyards.”
When a plane is retired, many of its parts, including engine parts, cockpit electronics, and other forms of hardware, can be recovered and repurposed. The plane’s body is frequently melted down and the aluminum converted into ingots for future use.
Guidance Systems
The more accurately explosives are able to hit a target, the more effective the strike. The United States military is now pursuing the use of electro-optical smart weapons by upgrading to laser-guided rockets for unmanned aerial vehicles, armored vehicles, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft. The Navy purchased an upgrade known as the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon system in May 2019. As equipment on fighter planes and bombers are changed and repaired, earlier weapons guidance systems and electronics become outdated.
Serving Those Who Serve Our Country
We already have various government agencies as clients at 1 Green Planet Near Washington, including the following:
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Coast Guard
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Department of Homeland Security
- Internal Revenue Service
- NASA
- Department of Defense
In addition, we serve the county government as well as several business clients. To learn more about our services, please contact us in Washington State.
