Month: September 2021

Montgomery County, Maryland’s Department of Environmental Protection recently held a live webinar discussing how businesses should recycle electronics and other items. The webinar began with a recycling exercise on sorting a variety of materials. Some materials end up in a comingled dumpster, others in a secure electronics recycling bin, and some in a trashcan.

Montgomery County, MD services more than 1.5 million residents and employees. The County is committed to providing education and resources geared toward reducing waste and recycling more. The following video contains comprehensive recycling information.

Securis’ own Dan Mattock, EVP of Sales and Marketing, speaks to electronic waste recycling (timestamp 36:44).

Montgomery County DEP Webinar: Recycle Right at Your Business from Montage Marketing on Vimeo.

How Businesses Should Recycle Electronics

Mr. Mattock discusses the best practices for recycling electronics, beginning with the definition of e-waste. The simple definition of e-waste is electronics that have reached the end of their life. Corporate e-waste typically includes computers, servers, monitors, cell phones, mice and keyboards, memory sticks, hard drives, solid-state drives, and more.

Residential e-waste recycling needs aren’t much different as households have multiple devices that they replace as new models and technology is introduced. He continues to discuss the dangers of electronic devices ending up in landfills. They may contain lead, arsenic, and mercury which is harmful to the environment.

Mattock also explains what environmental responsibility means, and how it helps companies’ bottom lines and the environment. He continues by discussing the challenges of data security, environmental risk, and disposal costs. These are an issue for government and private sector companies alike. It’s important to remember that old electronics still contain sensitive data, and if you’ve upgraded your electronics, the data that remains on them must be destroyed using a trusted electronic recycling program.

After Mattock’s presentation, there’s an informative section on the best practices for recycling scrap metal. Next is a section on recycling plastic bags and like materials. Be sure to watch the webinar recording through the end for the Q&A section. Questions about how businesses should recycle electronics and other items are likely answered here.

As always, if you have questions on how businesses should recycle electronics, please contact Securis.

At Securis, diversity isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a core company strength. It’s an acknowledgment that while people come from many different walks of life, there are more common values that bind and connect us than divide us. When it comes to how Securis identifies employees who lead, thrive, and innovate, there are several key factors.

Diversity is a Core Company Strength

“I love seeing people from different backgrounds working together to achieve shared goals,” says Jeremy Farber, founder and CEO of Securis. “If you’ve never witnessed a native Arabic speaker try to explain something to a native Spanish speaker who doesn’t speak much English, and are able to watch them work together to move forward, bearing witness to the moment it clicks is priceless. It doesn’t simply help two people solve a problem or work smarter together, it forms a bond that extends way beyond just a 9-5 job.”

Those who thrive at Securis don’t see this as just a job. They see their roles as a career and an opportunity to achieve the American Dream. Many who began in the warehouse as hourly workers have advanced to senior members of the Securis management team.

“Aligning to our Core Values is one thing we look for, but another key factor is if people are looking for just a paycheck or really want a career,” says Presson. “We’re looking for people who want a career, who want to look for opportunities to contribute to the growth of the company. Having people who want to be here and genuinely care about their coworkers makes all the difference in fostering a positive work environment for everybody.” In fact, the managers of the Service, Shipping, and Disassembly divisions all began as hourly warehouse workers and were able to advance.

“I can teach skills. I can teach how to do something,” Teresa says. “I can’t teach personality, attitude, or drive. That’s why during the interview process, I‘m more concerned with someone’s attitude and how they interact rather than if they look good on paper.”

“Part of it’s nature and part of it’s nurture,” Jeremy explains. “Teresa and her team do a great job finding the right people to fill vacancies. But then, even if people aren’t quite a perfect fit, when they get into the office or the warehouse, and see how well everybody’s working together, and how open everybody is, and how much fun people are having, it’s infectious. People want to be in that sort of environment, and to contribute to it.”

“Our team has a low turnover rate – especially for warehouse work,” Teresa says. “Our commitment to our team and our core values means people grow and thrive here, and our clients want to keep working with us over the long term.”

Throughout Securis’ offices and warehouses – the headquarters in Chantilly, VA, and regional offices throughout Virginia and North Carolina – the company’s core values are displayed prominently.

Securis’ Company Core Values

• Helps First – Put the team first
• Fun- Have the right attitude and stay positive
• Hungry – Have big goals and want to conquer the world
• Humbly Confident – Be humble, but be confident also
• Work-Life Harmony – Both are important but must be in balance
• Coachable- Always be learning
• Innovative – Nothing’s carved in stone, Question everything, Look for new ways

When hiring staff – be it a C-suite executive or an intern – Securis works hard to ensure that the new team member will be a good fit and live up to Securis’ core values. Using that benchmark as guidance, Securis has been able to create and foster a caring, familial environment that celebrates diversity, creates opportunities for all employees, and provides a safe space for employees of all backgrounds.Are you or someone you know looking for a career in a dynamic, enriching environment like Securis? Check out our current openings and see if a career at Securis is right for you.

From the very beginning, Securis has prided itself on its commitment to diversity – not just in words, but in actions and in the values that the company lives by every day. It’s a way of looking at problems, addressing challenges, and collaborating to come up with solutions to client’s issues.

Cultural Workforce Diversity

“One of the things I’m proudest of is not just the diversity of our workforce but the different perspectives, ideas, and opinions that grow out of such diversity,” says Securis Founder and CEO Jeremy Farber. “We have people working for us from all over the world – Asia, South America, Europe, Africa. We’ve talked about getting flags from all the different countries to hang in the warehouse, like a little U.N.”

“In homogenous work environments,” Farber says, “you get a lot of groupthink. You get a lot of similar backgrounds coming up with similar solutions to similar problems. You don’t get that with Securis. Instead, people from all over the world come together with their own perspectives and opinions while working towards a shared goal. Securis and our customers benefit from our workforce diversity.”

Some of the countries represented through the Securis workforce are Egypt, El Salvador, Vietnam, Guatemala, Tunisia, and India, to name just a few. Representatives from these countries hold a range of jobs from the warehouse to the back office to the front office.

“We want the best people, the most qualified people, in different roles. It doesn’t matter where they’re from, education level, what have you,” continued Farber, “If they started out with Securis and worked hard and worked well, then there is an opportunity for them to climb the ladder.”

Given Securis’ business, diversity in the workplace is seen as a boon for other reasons. “We hire employees with diverse backgrounds,” says Dan Mattock, Securis’ EVP of Sales. “We also live in a very diverse region in Northern Virginia.

If a manager or business owner shares a background or home country with some of our employees, that’s a connection that you just can’t get any other way – it’s deep and profound and as long as the job goes well, then we become their preferred vendor moving forward.”

Workforce Diversity in the Special Needs Community

Securis celebrates the diversity and international makeup of its employees every day. In addition to cultural diversity, Securis has a long-time commitment to supporting people with disabilities in the workforce. Securis’ program teaches special ed students IT Recycling and Data Destruction. Recently, the company was able to expand training for disabled HS students. Students with special needs gain real-world work experience at Securis through a long-standing program with local Chantilly High School, in Fairfax County, Virginia.

In addition to Securis’ program for local high school students, the company is also committed to empowering workers with disabilities through an organization called Service Source.

Interested in joining a company that values diversity where you can thrive as both an individual and as a part of a team? Check out Securis’ current job openings and see if anything fits you and your career goals.