Money poured down drain by IT directors

UK businesses are pouring thousands of pounds down the drain by failing to cash in on the monetary value of old ICT equipment. According to IT refurbisher, Remploy e-cycle, 80 per cent of IT decision-makers do not get money back from old equipment despite the fact that it can be sold on with minimal hassle and cost.

For example, just 100 end-of-life computers could provide a business with revenue of £7,500, even with the cost of refurbishing and remarketing taken into consideration.¹ This income could fund a Christmas party to reward staff for hard work; an extra pair of hands for a key project or even an important training course for members of staff.

In Remploy e-cycle's survey of 100 IT decision-makers, 10 per cent said they would be more motivated to reuse or recycle old ICT equipment if it would save the company money. Clearly, many are missing out on the fact that it not only saves money if refurbished equipment is deployed to other parts of the business but it can also make the business money through resale.

Since the introduction of the EU's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, which demands the amount of IT waste sent to landfill is reduced, businesses have started taking their responsibility more seriously but this has mainly resulted in firms recycling parts rather than refurbishing whole computers to a standard where they can be re-deployed within the organisation, re-sold or donated to a charity.

This oversight means that thousands of businesses are paying to get rid of IT equipment that doesn't need to be disposed of and are needlessly committing it to landfill. As a result, they are missing out on generating a potentially lucrative new revenue stream.

To combat this, Remploy e-cycle has launched a new campaign, Re-use IT, which aims to reduce the levels of IT waste being sent to landfill by encouraging the re-use of otherwise redundant equipment once all pre-existing data has been securely erased.

Remploy e-cycle general manager Malcolm Watson says: "While it is obviously good that businesses are heeding the WEEE Directive and recycling ICT equipment, we need to communicate to IT directors that recycling is the last resort not the first. We believe vast volumes of hardware are unnecessarily being recycled every year when they could be used again.

"Our philosophy is always refurbish and reuse, and only dispose if a computer can't easily be fixed. This is not only great for the planet but also for a business' bottom line." 

While there are no precise figures for the volume of ICT equipment or the associated waste it generates, it is clear that most businesses rely on hardware and the volumes involved are likely to continue growing. In 2005-06, public sector organisations alone procured 1.7 million units of ICT equipment at a cost of £2.7 billion and this was forecast to increase to £4.1 billion by 2010-11 (an estimated 2.6 million units of equipment).²

The key factor influencing the potential resale value of ICT equipment disposal is age at disposal. Leading commercial organisations dispose of ICT equipment at around three years of age whereas public sector ICT equipment is on average disposed of at five years of age. In 2005-06, four fifths of public bodies disposed of ICT equipment at a net cost and therefore the government estimates that if public sector organisations reduced the age at which they disposed of end-of-life ICT equipment from five to three years (in line with current best commercial practice), this could increase the financial return from resale by around some £70 million per year.³

Remploy e-cycle works to recycle end-of-life computer equipment from large organisations, such as governmental departments, enabling it to be redeployed within their operations or donated to worthy causes - all with the guarantee of total data removal. 

Examples of public sector organisations making money through resale

• In 2005-06 HM Revenue & Customs disposed of approximately 43,000 units of equipment generating net revenues of £14.21 per unit. Four fifths of the equipment was resold generating net revenues of £613,000, with the remainder recycled on a cost-neutral basis.
  
• The MoD's Disposal Services Agency used its existing disposal contacts to resell 100,000 units of ICT equipment for the Department for Work and Pensions. The Department, which until then had disposed of ICT equipment at a cost, obtained some £170,000 in revenue.

If you would like more information on refurbishing and reusing your IT equipment, please visit http://ecycle.remploy.co.uk/re-useIT  for more information.

ENDS

 For further information or to arrange an interview with a Remploy e-cycle spokesperson, please contact Lyanna Tsakiris at Bray Leino PR on ltsakiris@brayleino.co.uk Tel: 0117 973 1173

Notes to Editors:

• Remploy is the UK's leading provider of specialist employment services to people who experience complex barriers to work
• Last year Remploy found jobs in mainstream employment for 6,500 people with a range of physical, sensory and mental disabilities. By 2012 Remploy will be finding 20,000 jobs each year for people with disabilities and health conditions
• Remploy is the country's largest employer of disabled people operating 10 businesses at 54 locations across the UK. It supplies chemical and biological protection suits to police and armed forces in the UK and abroad, is the largest supplier of furniture to the education sector, operates an IT recycling business and manufactures components for leading motor manufacturers.
  
• Remploy operates a national network of town and city centre recruitment branches which provide specialist recruitment and development services to job seekers who have a health condition or disability
  
• Remploy partners with more than 2,000 of the country's biggest companies to find jobs for people with disabilities and health conditions including BT, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal Mail, the NHS, Marks & Spencer and ASDA
• Remploy operates national rehabilitation services to enable people to remain in work or to quickly return following an accident or ill health
• Remploy's learning services help disabled people to make the transition from education into meaningful paid employment

 Based upon an average sale  price per refurbished machine of £110 and deducting refurbishment cost of £10 and Remploy e-cycle's fee of 25% of the revenue

 "Improving the disposal of Public Information, Communication Technology Equipment"; National Audit Office; 31 July 2007

 "Improving the disposal of Public Information, Communication Technology Equipment"; National Audit Office; 31 July 2007