@work: IT outsourcers

IT recycling for ICT aggregators

As a national company, Remploy are ideally placed to offer:

• the collection of redundant IT equipment from sites all over the country;
• grading and assessment;
• refurbishment and repair;
• re-imaging;
• recycling and disposal. 

e-cycle - part of Remploy Ltd, the UK's leading provider of employment services for disabled people - will also provide a full and secure data cleansing service. This means that each piece of equipment is refurbished to a standard whereby it is available for redeployment, remarketing, or donation to a third party or charitable organisation.

Already servicing major clients in the UK, Remploy understands that your reputation is in our hands. We are fully ISO 9001 and 14001 compliant and can boast a successful track record with EDS.

Case Study: EDS

Businesses and organisations in the UK have been obligated to dispose of end-of-life IT equipment responsibly for some time now, ensuring that the environmental impact of electrical and electronic equipment is minimised by increasing re-use and recycling, and reducing the amount going to landfill. Many businesses, however, are not aware of the range of options available to them.

EDS is a global enterprise established in the UK in 1984, delivering information technology and business process outsourcing services to private sector clients and governments around the world. As IT partner to several world-class organisations, it is important that EDS helps its clients manage the costs associated with retiring and disposing of redundant IT hardware.

Organisations are often unaware of the possibility of redeploying, remarketing, donating, or even recycling IT assets and the potential value these options represent, both financially, from the sale of their used equipment, and also in terms of enhancing their reputations from a corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental perspective. Most businesses looking to dispose of redundant computer equipment believe they only have a few limited and costly options available to them that have no benefit either for them, their CSR responsibilities or the environment.

EDS had several challenges to meet - it needed to help its clients deal with their redundant IT hardware in an ethical, environmentally-minded, responsible and cost-effective way. This meant finding a viable solution that did not involve sending end-of-use IT equipment to landfill, while guaranteeing the highest levels of data cleansing and security. There was also the issue of the cost of IT disposal methods - was there a cost-effective route?

In 2004, EDS started working with Remploy e-cycle to process end-of-life IT equipment. By 2008, this relationship has evolved into a multi-million pound, long-term partnership, which sees Remploy e-cycle managing many of the thousands of pieces of end-of-life assets - from laptop and desktop computers to peripherals and servers - handled by EDS in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa every year. E-cycle's services include collection of the redundant IT equipment from EDS sites; grading and assessment; refurbishment and repair; re-imaging; recycling; and disposal.

E-cycle was able to meet all of EDS' requirements and more.

Firstly, e-cycle repairs and refurbishes all equipment where possible to a condition whereby it is available for redeployment, remarketing or donation to a third party or charitable organisation. In addition to minimising environmental impact in line with legislation, this has numerous benefits. In EDS' case, the remarketing of higher-spec computers not only covers potential disposal costs, but also generates a revenue stream. Using e-cycle also allows EDS to make life-changing donations: to date they have provided schools in Africa with over 30,000 refurbished PCs, enabling thousands of children in countries such as Angola, Rwanda and Sierra Leone to develop their IT skills.

Secondly, e-cycle offers world-class standards of data cleansing and destruction, giving EDS and its customers peace of mind that any sensitive data being held on their end-of-life computers has been thoroughly and irretrievably destroyed. Remploy e-cycle's data destruction standards rank among the highest in the world, using specialised, Government use-approved BLANCCO software.

Finally, working in partnership with Remploy e-cycle has helped EDS to make an important CSR commitment by helping to provide sustainable employment for disabled people across a variety of different skill sets - from drivers to technicians and engineers.

Remploy e-cycle and EDS are making a difference toward a better, more environmentally sustainable world by providing ecologically friendly IT service

offerings, improving clients' operational efficiency and productivity, and engaging their own employees in recycling and conserving resources.

Malcolm Watson, General Manager of Remploy e-cycle, said:

"We are delighted that EDS chooses e-cycle as its preferred supplier in the provision of services for the management of redundant hardware. EDS and its clients can be assured of a full end-of-life service which will enable full compliance with current legislation as well as supporting EDS in its own sustainability goals.

"The relationship between e-cycle and EDS grows ever stronger, and it is very encouraging to see industry-leading organisations like EDS take their corporate social responsibility credentials so seriously."

As a social enterprise Remploy can also assist customers with brand enhancement. As a government sponsored organisation, working with Remploy can also have a positive effect on clients' reputations and increase the probability for organisations to attract their own target clients.

Why not contact us to discover how we can help you with your IT recycling needs, or keep browsing to find out more about us.