Fair Lawn Firm Tackles E-Waste

In the relatively new world of electronic waste and information technology asset recovery, one Fair Lawn-based company is a pioneer.

David Bernstein, Chief Executive Officer at AnythingIT on Zink Place, recalled that the Year 2000 Problem (also known as the Y2K bug) was "the birth of our industry." It was the first time that companies had to seriously inventory the computers they had, he said.

AnythingIT, however, has been around since 1992.

"It's really only a 10-year-old industry, even though we've been doing it a lot longer," Bernstein said.

Working with both government and commercial contracts, AnythingIT helps clients "with a systematic and structured plan to manage their internal and external technology assets on an ongoing basis," according to its website. At the company's Fair Lawn warehouse is a wealth of laptops, hard drives and other gadgets, waiting to be tested and refurbished. 

The increasing cost of technology, companies' desire to be environmentally friendly, and legislation relating to electronic waste (or "e-waste") are all factors that have contributed to the growth of the IT asset recovery business, Bernstein said.

AnythingIT is also in the business of creating "green jobs," allowing individuals to learn a new trade without necessarily having a technology background, Bernstein said. The company's "electronics handlers" inventory computers, wipe out hard drives and perform other tasks—acquiring skills in a low-stress environment, he said.

To that end, AnythingIT partners with the non-profit Work Vessels for Veterans in the hiring process. Recruiting veterans has been a priority at AnythingIT for the last 10 months and counting, according to Bernstein.

"These are individuals who, in my opinion, you just can't do enough for," Bernstein said.

AnythingIT also wants to have an impact on the Fair Lawn community, Bernstein said, through the exploration of initiatives such as making e-waste drop-off available to residents.

For more information on AnythingIT, visit the company's website here.