Candace

Talmadge

Read Candace's bio and previous columns

May 5, 2008

Data Theft Prevention Goes Green 

Brad Chism combines two of the hottest business trends – environmental awareness and identity theft prevention – in ComputerCrusher, his small business based in Denton, Texas. 

Like many circumstantial entrepreneurs, Chism didn’t set out to run his own company. He wasn’t ready for college right after high school, so he toiled at odd jobs for a number of years, including factory work, which he calls “a real dose of reality.” He returned with a much greater appreciation for the opportunity to complete his formal education and graduated in 2004 with a degree in business computer information systems from the University of North Texas. 

This is just the type of technology-oriented major that the experts keep plugging as essential for the success of the U.S. economy. The coursework combined technical skills education with management topics such as accounting, finance and interpersonal communications. It is an outstanding degree for those aiming to become chief information officer/chief technology officer at business enterprises large enough to have an information technology department. 

Chism landed a job right after graduating, even in a down market. Yet he knew after just a few months that this wasn’t for him. “I sat in a cubicle, staring at a computer screen all day long, isolated from other people,” he says. The longer he did it, the less certain he was of being on the right career path. The thought of doing what it would require to gain that CIO/CTO position just did not appeal to Chism. 

He wasn’t sure of his next step. About that time, his father wanted to toss an old desktop computer, but it ended up in Chism’s attic because neither of them knew what to do with it. A business idea started germinating. During college, Chism had been especially interested in his courses on data security and on electronic waste. 

“There are 10 to 15 pounds of lead in the old CRTs in the screen,” he notes. “There is also mercury. We have hundreds of thousands of CRTs in landfills that eventually are going to leak these toxic substances.” 

He did some research and the idea took shape. The next year, Chism quit his day job and with his father launched ComputerCrusher. In a 16-foot trailer outfitted with a hand-operated hard-drive crusher, his firm goes to business offices and charges $15.00 to dispose of each desktop computer, monitor and keyboard included. He will take other types of technology equipment (old backup batteries, printers, copiers, cell phones, etc.) for an additional per-pound fee. He has a monthly community drop-off event for consumers to bring their old desktop computers for the same drop-off fee. 

ComputerCrusher differs from other recyclers by making sure that every desktop computer’s hard drive is destroyed (crushed) before the rest of the equipment is prepared for recycling. Physically ruining the hard drive instead of just wiping it clean with a software program absolutely prevents any possibility of data theft. ComputerCrusher will do this in front of the customer and provide a certificate of destruction upon request. 

While the company’s growth has been slow, Chrism sees a lot of potential for it. “The challenge is to do it responsibly,” he says. “A lot of recyclers are bundling equipment on pallets and just shipping it overseas. I wanted to recycle it here.” 

In deciding to do the right thing on a local level, Chism provides a valuable service to businesses as well as the community at large. He combined his passions and avocations to design his own job and an economic future that cannot be off-shored. His advice to those who would do the same: “Look to the things you believe in and research who’s doing it now.”

Next profile: A different leap of faith and courage that is bearing fruit for two former electrical engineers who have gone back to the land.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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