According to the Global E-Waste Monitor Report 2024, 62 billion kg of e-waste was generated globally in 2022. With the rise in digital transformation, electronification, and internet adoption, the use of internet-enabled electronic devices has continued to increase. However, the same cannot be said about recycling. Despite formal collection and recycling improving from 8 billion kg in 2010 to 13.8 billion kg in 2022, the growth in e-waste production has surpassed it by a factor of five.
The report further highlights that while electronic and electrical equipment drive societal transformation, e-waste represents a unique and complex category of waste. This is due to its composition — made up of diverse materials and components from various product types that have evolved over time. Modern devices now feature embedded drives, and miniaturized parts. This brings new challenges: the data stored on these devices, such as laptops, PCs, smartphones, and tablets, becomes vulnerable when discarded without secure data destruction.
Table of Contents
Erasing Data Permanently
Erasing data permanently from an IT asset that has embedded drives or miniaturized components becomes a tough nut to crack. Many media sanitization tools, physical and logical, require drives to be dismantled from the IT asset to erase data from them. Since embedded drives are soldered on to the motherboard, the entire device is physically destroyed, creating more e-waste. In the case of modern hard drives even physical data destruction methods like degaussing may fail due to higher magnetic coercivity. Media sanitization standards such as IEEE 2883:2022 recommend destroying the device to a certain particle size. If the tool is not capable of achieving that size, then the device that may have had the potential to be reused also gets destroyed, compliance requirements are not met, and data privacy risks still linger.
When data remains intact on discarded devices, the probability of retrieval and misuse becomes high. “Dumpster diving”, the act of searching through disposed materials for confidential information such as social security numbers, credit card details, email IDs, or intellectual property — continues to be a serious concern. Using such Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI), malicious actors conduct scams, social engineering, and identity theft, resulting in severe financial and reputational damage.
Windows 10 End of Support, Beginning of More E-waste
On October 14, 2025, Microsoft discontinued the support for Windows 10, leaving only limited choices for businesses and individuals. It’s to either switch to a different operating system like Linux, invest in new IT assets, upgrade the existing Windows 10 device to Windows 11, or enroll their devices in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) plan. The ESU does not include general updates, non-security updates requested by the customers, new features, or design change requests. The organizations enrolling in the ESU need to have a support plan in place to avail technical support only related to the ESU.
While upgrading to Windows 11 may seem like the most viable option, not all devices are eligible for the upgrade. For an IT asset to run Windows 11, it must meet certain hardware requirements, including:
- At least 64 GB storage device
- UEFI or secure boot capable system firmware
- At least a 1 GHz processor with at least 2 cores on a System on a Chip (SoC) or a 64-bit processor
- 4 GB RAM
- Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip
Without these hardware prerequisites, the Windows 11 OS won’t be operational on an IT asset. The organizations that decide to stay with Windows 10 will face the risk to their business-critical data such as, Intellectual Property and personal data of customers. The most cost-effective alternative to all this hassle seems to be investing in new IT assets, which infers discarding older Windows 10 machines.
Ending of Windows 10 Support
For many, investing in new IT assets may seem to be the easiest way forward, but it also means discarding older Windows 10 devices. According to *Canalys, PC Service and Sustainable Ecosystems Analysis, December 2023 report, ending of Windows 10 support will result in approximately 240 million PCs becoming e-waste as they will be ineligible for a Windows 11 upgrade. This leads to nearly 48 million kilograms of e-waste entering landfills.
In 2020, Microsoft reported that people in more than 200 countries were using Windows 10, with over 1 billion active devices worldwide. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) states that the manufacturing of many of these devices had created 46 million tons of climate pollution. Witnessing that most of these devices will be thrown as waste clashes with Microsoft’s ambitious ESG goals.
*Canalys is now Omdia.
What Can Be Done to Secure Your Private Data?
The fate of these old Windows 10 based devices remains a dilemma. ITADs might find refurbishing, repairing, or reselling Windows 10 assets unprofitable, while donating such unsecure devices to underprivileged communities could be unethical. However, what happens to the sensitive data stored on them is a far more serious concern from both compliance and data safety perspectives.
By now, organizations globally that have been using Windows 10 must have taken a decision, whatever that might be. For businesses and consumers planning to move forward with their shiny new machines, it is essential to ensure that the data in their old devices remains safe. The organizations committed to environmental sustainability should select a solution that secures the data without damaging the environment.
Logical data destruction, or as it is popularly known, data erasure, is the only solution to avoid creating more e-waste. A certified software-based data wiping tool like BitRaser is capable of erasing data permanently from PCs, laptops, mobile devices, tablets, servers, smartwatches, hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), etc. Data once removed cannot be retrieved even when using forensic data recovery tools. In addition, BitRaser is ADISA Product Assurance Certified tool on NIST and IEEE standard & generates automated data erasure reports and certificate of destruction, which serve as evidence during compliance audits.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Windows 10 devices can still be used for extended life at a cost however if the cost is not paid then there remains immense data security risks due to end of support and end of software patches or updates. This leaves the system vulnerable to malware attacks and viruses. The only responsible step is to upgrade to Windows 11 or buy a new device if upgrade is not supported. Erase all confidential information before disposing of the old device to ensure no data leakage happens. Organizations must prevent potential data breaches, safeguard their reputation, and contribute to a sustainable digital future.
Also Read: Green Hydrogen Technology: Clean Energy of the Future