E-waste recyclers have eked out profits for decades by collecting discarded electronics, dismantling them, and then selling the components and raw materials. Electronic waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, according to the United Nations. In the European Union alone, 10 million tonnes (about 11 million U.S. tons) are tossed each year.
One big challenge for e-waste recyclers is competition: About 150 registered operators in the U.K. are permitted to treat e-waste. One of them, EnvironCom, hopes that fixing some of the 60,000 tonnes of junk it handles per year might give it an advantage. So in addition to recycling, it’s also repairing broken washers, TVs, and refrigerators, and then reselling them. Reuse “makes very good business sense and it’s great for the environment,” explains Chief Executive Officer Sean Feeney.
The 200-person company, headquartered in Grantham, 100 miles north of London, began its refurbishing operations in earnest two years ago, sparked by Feeney’s experience working as the supply-chain director at DSG International, now Dixons Retail (DXNS), the largest seller of consumer electronics in the U.K. Unlike small refurbishers that typically buy used products directly from individuals and small businesses, EnvironCom gets its refuse in bulk from large companies and recycling centers.
Today, EnvironCom fixes about 15 percent of the products it handles, and aims to resell 30 percent of large appliances by the end of 2014, says Feeney. In October 2011 it opened a new 50,000-square-foot facility in London to expand its repairing capability. Feeney plans to open a new plant in Dublin this summer and is considering setting up additional locations in Europe and the U.S. over the next 18 months.
Source: Business Week
By Siobhan Crise