Electronics Recycling

Australia-based Sims Recycling Solutions has formalized its acquisition of the end-of-life recycling assets of Noranda Recycling Inc., one of North America’s largest recyclers.

The sale was first announced in April, with the agreement also providing for Sims to take control of the company’s operations in California, Tennessee and Canada as well as other elements of the business. Xstrata will continue to operate the sampling plants in San Jose, Calif., and East Providence, R.I..

Steve Skurnac, president of Sims Recycling Solutions, will lead the company in North America. He will report to Graham Davy, managing director for Sims Recycling Solutions’ global operations.

"Sims Recycling Solutions is committed to becoming the world’s most innovative electronic scrap recycler for the global business-to-business community. Rightly, this is an area of huge growth—and with our commitment to commercial development and pursuing end-of-life process excellence, Sims is placed ideally to play a leading role in the burgeoning sector across the world," says Davy.

"We are now North America’s largest electronics recycler, boasting the strongest processing infrastructure across the continent," he continues. "In addition, our recent acquisitions have also brought further smelting and metal refining expertise into the group, allowing us to offer a total capability for the recycling of many materials."

Davy adds, "This year we will recycle 25 million computers and television sets across the world, as regions move to embrace electronic scrap legislation. As those numbers increase, Sims will continue to deliver innovative, responsible and commercially astute solutions to businesses across the globe."

More information on Sims Recycling Solutions is available online at www.sims-group.com.

QSGI, Hightstown, N.J., has introduced a Mobile IT Audit & Erasure Facility, which it describes as "the industry’s only fully functioning, self-contained IT asset management facility" that can operate directly at a client’s location.

QSGI delivers its mobile sanitation services using a 53-foot truck equipped with a full-service data erasure lab. According to Chris Schoeller, QSGI vice president of sales, data security and compliance, the truck can process 500 to 1,000 tons per day and removes chain of custody issues.

The system deploys Blancco software to sanitize the drives and to provide detailed reports on to its customers regarding the status of the wipe on a per-asset basis. QSGI’s reporting also provides a summary of the devices’ capabilities and components. Schoeller says QSGI does a standard three-pass wipe that conforms to Department of Defense standards unless a customer specifies otherwise.

The company’s reporting system indicates any damaged drives that cannot be sanitized, at which point QSGI degausses these devices on-site prior to bringing them to its plant to be shredded.

The mobile facility uses wireless technology to transmit detailed reports and certificates of destruction to its clients while still on site.

QSGI also offers off-site sanitation services, with Schoeller saying 50 percent of customers opt for this method while an equal percentage select the on-site option.

The company offers a full suite of end-of-life and other life-cycle services, including a value-added remarketing program, to Fortune 1,000 corporations and government clients. QSGI also provides services for enterprise-class hardware, including mainframes, midrange servers, tape storage and disk storage products.

More information is available at www.qsgi.com.

Minneapolis-based Best Buy Co. has unveiled a consumer electronics recycling grant program to help increase the recycling opportunities available in communities across the United States.

The program will provide two types of grants, the first offering support for events hosted by 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations, and the second supporting events hosted by other organizations in cities and townships across the country. Grants will range from $500 to $1,500, depending on the size and scope of each organization’s event program and the need for recycling in the area.

Grant applications are available online at www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=725063232472 and at www.bestbuy.com/recycling or www.e4partners.com. Priority has been given to applications that were completed by Earth Day, April 22, 2007.

The Summit-Akron Solid Waste Management Authority has signed a one-year contract with E-Waste LLC to handle and process a wide range of electronics collected at the county’s hazardous waste collection facility. The contract includes a two-year option.

The haz-waste facility is open six months per year. As part of the contract, E-Waste will operate at the site two days per week. The company will accept a wide range of electronics from county residents for free, though those dropping off television sets will be charged.

Last year, the Summit-Akron Solid Waste Authority collected nearly 120,000 pounds of electronic scrap through its contracted vendor.

WeRecycle! Inc., an electronics recycler based in Wallingford, Conn., is expanding its recycling capacity by opening a new facility in Mount Vernon, N.Y., just outside of New York City.

The new facility will provide local recycling infrastructure to process the growing electronic scrap created by New York City’s businesses and residents. WeRecycle!’s 56,600-square-foot facility in Mount Vernon is expected to open by July 1. The company currently operates a facility in Meriden, Conn.

To assist with its expansion, New York State has awarded WeRecycle! several grants.

"We are pleased that New York State sees the value of investing in this emerging industry," Mick Schum, president of WeRecycle!, says. "With this new facility, WeRecycle! continues to be a pioneer in the industry, setting the bar high for data destruction and environmental responsibility."

According to WeRecycle!, its new facility will use cutting-edge technology to guarantee data destruction while recycling material an environmentally responsible manner. The facility’s demanufacturing process will be highly automated and includes a 300-hp Quad Shredder from SSI Shredding Systems Inc., Wilsonville, Ore., specifically engineered to process electronics.

WeRecycle! provides certified data removal, asset tracking, remarketing, logistics and reporting in addition to recycling. More information on the company is available at www.werecycle.com.

Nortel and Sims Group’s Recycling Solutions division have signed a Pan-European agreement to increase the collection and recycling of electronic scrap.

Under the agreement, Sims Recycling Solutions will be Nortel’s European partner for the recovery, redeployment and recycling of Nortel’s end-of-life equipment.

To arrange for the disposal of end-of-life equipment, Nortel customers throughout Europe can contact the company via telephone or by e-mail.

Through the agreement, Sims Recycling Solutions is helping Nortel achieve and exceed targets set by the European Union’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive.

"Nortel is focused on the three Rs of recovery, redeployment and recycling," David Huculak, leader, Nortel Global Investment Recovery, says. "We’re committed to recycling and taking responsibility for Nortel products from design and manufacture through to end of life. Working with Sims Recycling Solutions we’re also able to simplify the process of e-waste disposal for our customers. It’s good for the environment and it’s good for business."

Rene Kik, European business development director, Sims Recycling Solutions, says, "Working together with Nortel we believe we’re helping to improve the environment overall through the expansion and advancement of recycling and safe disposal activities."

In the United Kingdom, Nortel operates an investment recovery center responsible for recovering and redeploying Nortel equipment from customers. During the last year, the facility, located in Oakdale, South Wales, recovered more than 720 metric tons of material through Sims Recycling Solutions.

Reclamere, Tyrone, Pa., has announced that it has been endorsed for plant-based computer hard drive destruction by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID).

"This certification is just another step that Reclamere has taken to remain the national leader in secure IT Asset Management," Angie Singer Keating, Reclamere vice president, corporate security and compliance, says.

"We take the security of our clients’ data very seriously and will work to educate them as to any new digital data breach exposure points," Singer Keating adds.

As a NAID-certified operator, Reclamere is subject to an annual security audit and to surprise security audits in the future.