XXXX | Electronics Disposal Policy

Policy Manager: Vice President of Technology & Digital Strategy

Purpose

This policy establishes procedures and standards for the environmentally responsible, secure, and compliant disposal of all CIA-owned electronic equipment at the end of its useful life or when there is no demonstrable return on investment in its resale.

Scope

This policy applies to all employees and students at CIA involved in the use, management, storage, and disposal of electronic devices, including but not limited to computers, laptops, monitors, printers, peripherals, and audio-visual equipment.

Policy Provisions

• End of Life and ROI Evaluation

• All electronic equipment must be evaluated for operational usefulness. Devices deemed at the end of their useful operational life or determined by CIA to have no cost-effective resale value will be marked for disposal.

• ReT3 as Primary Disposal Vendor

• All eligible electronics will be sent to ReT3 for secure, sustainable disposal.

• Benefits of using ReT3 include:

• Environmentally responsible recycling processes, certified to R2 and RIOS industry standards.

• No-landfill guarantee: all electronics are either refurbished, harvested for reusable components, or responsibly recycled, never sent to landfill.

• Secure data destruction practices, protecting institutional and personal data throughout the process.

• Community support: ReT3 refurbishes equipment for distribution to local nonprofits, extending the social value of donated items.

• Compliance with legal, health, safety, and environmental regulations.

• Exceptions (Raw Material Use)

• The only exception to external disposal is for specific electronics equipment judged valuable as "raw materials" for educational or creative purposes within CIA's curriculum (such as components for art projects, deconstruction in instructional labs, etc.).

• Approval for Retaining End-of-Life Equipment:

• Academic departments requesting to retain equipment for raw material purposes must:

• Submit a written request to the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) for approval. The request should clearly describe the intended purpose and how the equipment will meet all other requirements of this policy.

• Commit that such equipment will not be connected to the CIA network at any time (including Wi-Fi or wired networks).

• Agree to accept sole responsibility for proper final disposal when the item is no longer needed, ensuring eventual disposal through ReT3 or another certified recycler.

• Acknowledge that retained equipment will receive no support from CIA IT and will be clearly labeled as out-of-support assets.

Additional Safeguards and Best Practices

• Data Sanitization and Security

• Before disposal, all storage media must be securely wiped following industry standards (e.g., NIST SP 800-88), and, if needed, physically destroyed to prevent data breaches. The process is managed and verified by CIA IT staff.

• For instances where CIA is unable to secure erase hard drives or data storage devices, CIA will retain the services of ReT3 or another suitable vendor to destroy the drives with a provided certificate of destruction.

• Inventory and Documentation

• All disposals will be logged, listing item details, serial numbers, data destruction method, and a record of delivery to ReT3.

Prohibited Actions

• No CIA-owned electronic equipment may be:

• Disposed of via regular trash, donated to non-vetted parties, or taken off campus by individuals for personal use.

• Placed in storage or reassigned without IT evaluation and documentation.

• Retained for academic or creative "raw material" use without explicit OAA approval and the above compliance stipulations.

This policy ensures data security, environmental stewardship, and compliance with regulations.

Approval Authority: [For policies, either CIA Cabinet or Board of Directors; for procedures, the expected governing body for the approval and revision of the document.]

Adoption and Revision History