Designing a Nationwide IT and E-Waste Disposal Program in Brazil

Multinational groups and large Brazilian corporations often have dozens or hundreds of locations across the country. When each site manages IT and electronic waste on its own, the result is predictable: multiple suppliers, inconsistent documentation, audit headaches and no consolidated ESG view.

A more efficient approach is to treat IT and e-waste disposal as a nationwide program with standardized processes, contracts and reporting, anchored by a single certified partner such as Ecobraz.

1. Why move to a nationwide program

Decentralized disposal creates several issues:

• Different suppliers and varying quality per site;
• Non-standard certificates and reports;
• Difficulty proving PNRS and data-protection compliance in audits;
• Higher overall logistics and handling costs;
• No consolidated ESG data for boards and investors.

A nationwide program, with Ecobraz as a central partner, simplifies all of this.

2. Step 1: map sites, volumes and current flows

• List all Brazilian entities and locations (CNPJ, site type, region);
• Estimate e-waste volumes by site (high, medium, low);
• Identify current disposal practices and suppliers;
• Highlight sites with frequent IT refresh cycles or large projects.

3. Step 2: define a standard end-to-end process

Example of a simple, scalable process:

1. Local IT marks assets as end-of-life and updates internal inventories;
2. The site submits a pickup request through a central channel;
3. A central team consolidates and approves pickups per region;
4. Ecobraz schedules and performs collection and transport;
5. Ecobraz processes the material and issues certificates and reports;
6. ESG and compliance teams store documents and update indicators.

4. Step 3: negotiate a national contract with Ecobraz

A national contract should clarify:

• Geographical coverage (regions, remote sites);
• Types of waste and IT equipment covered;
• Collection lead times by region and minimum volumes;
• Documentation standards (final destination certificates, inventories, data-destruction certificates);
• Pricing model and service-level expectations;
• Data-security and LGPD-related obligations for IT assets;
• Consolidated periodic reporting to support ESG.

5. Step 4: standardize documentation

For each batch, a minimum documentary package should include:

• Final destination certificate for e-waste;
• Transport and manifest information, when required;
• Inventory of discarded equipment by category and site;
• Data-destruction certificates for sensitive IT assets;
• Technical statements when needed for audits;
• Consolidated reports per CNPJ and period.

6. Step 5: align IT, ESG, Facilities, Procurement and Legal

A nationwide program only works if key functions cooperate:

• IT: asset lifecycle, decommissioning, data security;
• Facilities/Operations: storage and on-site logistics;
• Procurement: contract and cost management with Ecobraz;
• ESG/Sustainability: metrics and reporting;
• Legal/Compliance: regulatory alignment and risk control.

7. Step 6: define regional logistics patterns

• Regular pickups for large sites and data centers;
• Scheduled windows (e.g. quarterly) for mid-size sites;
• On-demand pickups with regional minimum volumes for small sites;
• Regional consolidation hubs where sensible.

8. Step 7: build a nationwide e-waste dashboard

Key indicators can include:

• Total tonnes of e-waste processed per year;
• Split by site/CNPJ and by equipment category;
• Number of data-destruction certificates issued by Ecobraz;
• Estimated CO₂ savings;
• Devices refurbished and used in social or digital inclusion projects.

9. Conclusion

A nationwide IT and e-waste disposal program in Brazil, anchored by Ecobraz, turns a fragmented operational issue into a controlled, measurable process that supports ESG, compliance and cost efficiency.

To explore a nationwide program with Ecobraz as your e-waste partner in Brazil, visit https://ecobraz.org.