The waste management and recycling industry keeps our cities, streams, and air clean. However, if you work in this field, you know it’s not a clean job. Just like most modern-day businesses, waste management and recycling companies rely on electronics for efficiency. Keeping label printers, barcoding and scanning systems, personal computers, and monitors up and running can be a challenge with debris-filled air. Sometimes it takes just one day for a layer of dust to form on your electronics, and ultimately dust can lead to an array of issues. Keep reading to learn about the various environmental hazards in the waste management and recycling field, and find out how enclosures can extend the life of your electronic equipment.
Hazards in Waste Management and Recycling
Effects on Label Printers
If you glance around a recycling or waste management center, you’ll find about a thousand different sources of microscopic particulate. Machines sifting through items to sort, plastics, metals and glass being crushed and processes, and even decaying items like paper can release tiny airborne particles. This dust contaminates and destroys costly printheads over time, which results in decreased print quality.
Does your facility rely on a barcode system to scan and inventory items? If you haven’t been keeping your label printer protected with an enclosure, you might notice that items won’t scan correctly. This can cause accuracy issues and slow down production time. To keep your label printer protected, look for an enclosure with a particulate and fume filter. This filter works very well in environments with high amounts of dust and heavy truck and forklift traffic. It includes double the amount of activated carbon filtration to remove even the tiniest particulates from sticky, humid air containing oil and fumes.
Effects on Personal Computers
Just as microscopic particulate can find its way inside your label printers, it can also damage computers. If you work in the waste management and recycling industry, take a minute to listen to your computer. Does its fan need to run often to keep your computer cool? This could be a sign that it has layers of dust inside, which you shouldn’t ignore.
Inside your computer is your hard drive, which doesn’t mesh well with microscopic particulate. When dust gets trapped inside your computer, it can cause it to overheat, which in turn can cause your hard drive to fail. Even if your company stores most important information offsite, don’t take a chance on costly downtime or losing important data. To protect your computer system, you can purchase an enclosure with a particulate and fume filter. To add an extra layer of protection to your computer, work with a company like DustShield that will include a lock and key upon request. That way, you can protect sensitive information from theft.
Effects on Monitors
If you’re reading this on a desktop monitor, take a second to examine your screen. Do you notice a layer of dust? How about small scratches? Scratches and dust on monitors go hand-in-hand. While dust often looks soft and fluffy, it can contain bits of abrasive material like sand, rocks, and glass. Over time, these pieces can scratch your screen significantly and affect your ability to read the screen. In addition, microscopic particulate can cause a shortage in your computer monitor, which makes the display quit working altogether. Luckily, it is very easy to protect your monitor with an enclosure.
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Dust and debris are facts of life in the waste management and recycling field. However, your electronics should not have to suffer. By purchasing enclosures for your monitors, computers, and label printers, you can extend their lifespans.
If you’re looking for a computer enclosure, contact DustShield. We have an extensive line of enclosures designed to protect LCD monitors, tower and desktop CPUs, and printers in harsh environments. Heavy-duty and delivered completely assembled, our enclosures suit a variety of applications. We’ll work with you to determine which upgrades would enhance your company’s workflow. With help from our customer service representatives, you’ll find that customizing a computer enclosure is easy. To learn more, please contact us toll-free at 800-587-9557 or contact us online.
