2003 International Trading Supplement -- Electronic Impulse

An electronics recycling firm in Western Canada tries to harvest recycling’s fastest-growing stream.

Throughout North America, a combination of corporate and governmental entities are experimenting with ways to collect computers and other electronic equipment for recycling.

Some events are more successful than others, and results can be hard to predict ahead of time. This past spring, a recycler in western Canada experienced the boom side of the phenomenon.

On May 10, the City of Calgary, Alberta, held an eCycle Round-Up Day that diverted more than 220,000 kilograms (485,000 pounds) of electronic scrap from landfill sites. “To our knowledge that makes this event the single largest one-day event ever held,” says Clayton Miller, communications and marketing coordinator for Maxus Technology Inc., the Calgary-based asset recovery and electronics recycling company that processed the material collected.

A BANNER DAY. Miller reports that 3,615 computer monitors, 4,277 CPUs, 1,753 televisions, 1,392 stereos and miscellaneous phones, speakers and games were dropped off. “The approximate amount of lead diverted from landfill, as a result of monitors and TVs alone, came to 7,320 kg (16,100 pounds),” Miller says.

He notes the event was bolstered by a drive taking place across Canada at A&B Sound retail outlets the same day that collected an additional 38,354 kg (84,500 pounds) that was sent to Maxus for recycling.

The eCycle Round-Up Day was a new spike in the growth of Maxus Technology, a nine-year-old Calgary-based company that is staking a leadership claim in the e-waste and electronics recycling industry worldwide. Although, as a private company, the principals are reluctant to give out monetary figures, Miller notes that the Maxus workforce has doubled in the last year alone, now standing at 60 employees.

FOLLOWING THE GROWTH CURVE. The company was founded in 1994 by Shelley and Charles Whatmore under the name Admincomm Warehousing Ltd. When asked about where they got their industry knowledge, Miller notes, that because it was such a new industry, the Whatmores had to create their own knowledge base. They are now considered industry veterans.

Shelley in particular has been instrumental in bringing e-waste recycling and the concepts of extended producer responsibility to the forefront in Canada. She sits on Alberta’s Recycling Council Board of Directors and is regularly asked to speak as an expert for various organizations. Maxus is a member of numerous industry groups as well, with Shelley actively involved in several of them.

“We started as an asset recovery company,” Miller says. “Our first contracts were with Telus Communications, Canada’s second largest telecommunications provider. “We found markets for their used telecom equipment, which generated new revenue for them from written down assets.

“That first contract turned into two and three,” Miller continues. “Soon, we were figuring out solutions for a wide range of surplus electronic equipment. Now we provide a full technology lifecycle solution for our clients, from acquisition to environmentally friendly recycling.” Miller says.

Because of the nature of the wide-ranging contract with Telus, Maxus Technology searched for international markets from the very outset. What Telus considered “old” technology was actually considered new in other parts of the world.

“Seventy-five percent of our revenue comes from outside of Canada,” Miller reports. “We have agents throughout the U.S., South America, Asia and Europe.” The company’s combination head office and warehouse is in Calgary, with partnerships or sales offices in Portland, Ore., Mexico, Chile and the Czech Republic. More are opening monthly as the company expands.

Recently, Maxus Technology began discussions with RecycleNation Inc., Morgan Hill, Calif., an electronics recycling company whose founder is another industry veteran and pioneer. David Smith, whose previous electronics reclamation company was acquired in 1997, has consistently been a pioneer in electronics recycling technology development and industry wide initiatives.

With its new facility located in Silicon Valley nearly complete and an ownership interest in South Korea’s largest e-scrap processor, RecycleNation will give Maxus a direct link to the U.S. core market. This combination of circumstances could make for a well-positioned full-service recycling company with facilities in five countries and the ability to provide vertically integrated services to large multinational corporations.

“We have a big push on now to develop custom solutions for our clients,” Miller says. “We provide equipment sourcing for our clients on one end and go out and find customers for older client equipment on the other. We have also developed our refurbishing operation to the point where our margins are increased, allowing us to return a percentage of recovered revenues to our clients.”

BEYOND RESALE. Maxus Technology expanded into electronics recycling two years ago when the company became increasingly aware that much electronic equipment that was exported overseas was not disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.

“As a company and as people who have to live in this world, we felt we should address this issue,” Miller says. “What we can resell, we resell. What we can’t, we now recycle.”

The company operates a 45,000-square- foot recycling facility in Rimbey, a town about 120 miles north of Calgary. The aluminum, steel and copper are removed from the electronic equipment, manually and mechanically, separated and sent through a screening process. Additionally, the leaded glass from cathode ray tubes in televisions and computer monitors is separated from the regular glass. All the recovered metals and glass are forwarded to an audited facility for further processing.

Miller emphasizes that Maxus Technology audits all buyers of the goods derived from its recycling operation to ensure total transparency in the system.

“The revenues from our e-waste recycling operation are still relatively low compared to our asset recovery services,” Miller reports, “but the volumes are more than doubling every year. We are still in the ‘problem recognition stage’ where we explain to our clients the importance of proper recycling.

“We point out, for example, that computer equipment may contain important data, which could be financially damaging if made available to the public,” he notes.

To help the process along, Miller reports that the company is working with industry groups such as Electric Products Stewardship Canada (EPS), Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) and different levels of government to determine the a cost effective model to collect and process e-waste.

“We foresee an e-waste recycling infrastructure developing in Canada and North America in the near future.” Miller says. Miller notes that competition in the field is growing steadily as more and more people realize there is a problem and see an opportunity to do something about it.

“We are working in a constantly changing industry environment, the fundamentals of which are still shaking out. In the mean time, we see what works, strive for smart and sustainable growth and continue to serve our customers to the best of our abilities.” Miller says.

The author is a freelance writer living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He can be reached at myron@autobahn.mb.ca.