Don’t bin IT, donate IT - CSR in Europe, Middle East and Africa -
CSR in Europe, Middle East and Africa » Don’t bin IT, donate IT
Don’t bin IT, donate IT
Our recycling and take back initiatives yield great results and I am proud to share with you our latest recycling news: In fiscal year 2007, from November 2006-October 2007, we recycled 110 million kilograms of hardware and cartridges worldwide. This is 50 percent more than the previous year.

In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), we were able to nearly double the amount of recycled equipment to 77,111 metric tonnes thanks in some part to our over 100 direct take back events in the region. At these events, people are invited to bring back any brand of old IT equipment. We refurbish and donate to charity suitable items and recycle the rest. During our January events in the UK, we collected more than 50 tonnes of old equipment, 35% of which can be given a second life. People arrived on bikes, the bus and by foot, carrying their old IT in rucksacks and carrier bags. One man brought in an ancient laptop remarking that it ran on Windows Medieval and maybe was more suitable for a museum! So far we have donated equipment to children’s homes, old people’s drop-in centres and to a community support network. We aim to keep the donation local to the collection event to further reduce the environmental impact and build local community support.

We will continue to run more of these events across Europe this year. People are genuinely happy to be giving their old IT away to a good cause, rather than letting it lose more and more value getting dusty in their attics, garages and sheds.

Our business customers can also buy or lease refurbished IT equipment at competitive prices from our refurbishment division which remanufactured and resold more than 2.5 million units last year.

All these initiatives lead to the remarkable amount of 77 thousand tonnes of recycled equipment in EMEA in 2007. But of course we do not want to stop here, but aim to break this new record the coming financial year. You can be sure that I will keep you updated.

Kirstie McIntyre, Takeback Compliance UK, Environmental Business Management Organization, EMEA


Posted 02-18-2008 8:14 AM by BlogArchive
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