WEEE (Computer) recycling toolkit

Okay, so my posts have, so far, focused upon the recycling of obsolete e-waste and the associated green side of this initiative. How about the other side of the IT bandwagon, that of green datacentres and greener computing systems. Well, a couple of months ago, a company based in Sheffield started to hit the headlines and have in the past year won numerous awards for their innovative solutions.

Very PC featured on Dragon's den, on the BBC and was slated as a direct result of a lack of knowledge on the part of the dragons, the company has solutions that are to put it bluntly mind-boggling. Consider the standard PC as consuming a few hundred watts, the desktops manufactured by Very PC run on less than 30 watts (at full pelt and with AMD 64x2 processors).

This isn't just a company in development either. They've just completed construction of a manufacturing warehouse in Yorkshire and have a significant range of computer solutions, which can be provided in large quantities. So, why do I see the kit as being the de-facto Green IT solution? They're probably the most energy efficient computers on the market at present. Being a viable proposition for large roll-outs and installs, the cost savings for companies needing to replace obsolete equipment could be huge (by my reckoning, a few hundred quid per pc over a 4 year period!). Heck, what I can't understand, given the current green drive for IT, is the fact that companies aren't taking up these computers more. I guess Dell and HP have them locked into service contracts.

Of course, their server solutions could similarly reduce overheads, bringing the overall overheads of a company down markedly. Data Centers could benefit from similar sawp-outs, where running costs could be more than halved.

How can I put this. HP are touting a drive to reduce desktop PC power consumption by 25% on or before 2010. However, this company has managed to achieve a drop of 2 of 3 times this already. Could this be the next Dyson- a British innovation that could potentially change another consumer product?

Plastics are the scurge of the I.T recycling industry. Unlike all other components of weee (cases, circuit boards, cables and even backup batteries) which can have recoverable materials with residual value, plastics are of such low value that large quantities are needed to really generate interest on the open market.

So, the solution: We've installed a granulator, which simply turns the old plastic parts into small granules, meaning that we can store more of the by-product and generate some interest in re-using the material.

It's not as easy as it seems though. Plastics use among I.T manufactrers hasn't been streamlined. There's a myriad of colours and many different types of plastic. Even so, we think we've got it licked and can now store an estimated 3 tonnes of the material for re-processing into new consumer goods (it'll probably form part of your new computer!).

There's a change of wind in the air. With the CKS Group having just gone into administration this Summer (I undestand an investment of £8 million was made in the latest plant in Cinderford, Gloucestershire) the processing plants will soon be idle, unless a rescue package is implemented and to be honest with you, given the current financial climate, coupled with the recycling market, I doubt it'll happen. CKS Group targeted business WEEE (IT, Comms and Computers).

The whole point of this is that CKS weren't really known, outside of their sphere of influence. A contact, who runs a charitable recycling initiative and shall remain anonymous, stated that their "sales team weren't up to scratch" basically meaning that the waste streams weren't generated to support the capital that had been sunk into the plant- they weren't exactly picking up the yellow pages and going out meeting and greeting. In effect, it goes back to what I posted a week or so ago- the infrastructure simply isn't in place to support such large capital investments.

I guess, in effect, they sunk the cash into the plant to coincide with the launch of the WEEE directive and simply expected the legislation to bite home and get the waste flowing their way. So much for Due diligence.

IT-Green is currently undergoing some major changes and I guess it's fair to say that being one of 2 directors, I'm in the driving seat (not to blow my own trumpet or anything) . Lets get one thing straight from the start, running a Business is not easy.... it's fun yes, but definately not easy. Add to that the following and we can see why recycling WEEE is a tough nut to crack:

IT and telecoms is a tough field to work in, particularly if reselling equipment (new or old). Given that you can pick up new kit from Dell for £299 all in, it's no wonder that your local independant IT reseller goes out of business every 12 months.

UK legisltation is extremely tough for recycling companies. Recycling of weee means reselling it as well as dismantling it. Currently there's no sure fire way to seperate out the various compnents of a computer except by hand. Larger operations shred the lot- but where's the material recovery- it end up as a mis-match of everything and your can't recover any materials from that!

So, I've had to go get us a big licence to meet the demand for our service. The cost? Quite a lot- straight out of the bottom line. What it allows us to do? Recycle 5000 tonnes of computers. Doesn't sound like much I know, but I reckon it's near on 250,000 systems per annum!

Here's the crunch. I'm not too sure if there's enough infrastructure in the UK to supply that ammount of kit. There's too much in-fighting in the industry at the moment and no organisation. add to that the fact it's a costly enterprise and that proper recycling companies need to charge (even when they're an AATF) and you start to see why the industry is full of cowboys undercutting the competition. Don't believe me? Well, we know that there's a few rogue traders in the industry takkiing advantage of people's lack of knowledge when it comes to recycling.