Lockdown has had a major effect on our demand for electronic devices, and not in a good way. More than 50 million tonnes of electronic waste is generated across the world every year, and the United Nations predicts this figure will more than double over the next 30 years.
Here WEEE Technology, specialists in corporate computer disposal in London, look at why this figure is increasing so much – and what businesses and individuals should be doing about it.
The Drive Away from Offices and Into Homeworking
Even after lockdown is over, more than half of all companies who do survive the Covid-19 pandemic plan to cut their working space, according to a survey by networking equipment specialists Cisco. And nine out of every ten employees surveyed said they didn’t plan to return to their office full time, and they would instead be working from home or remotely for at least part of the week.
A recent further study, by business-to-business specialists Coleman Parkes, showed that, out of 600 companies approached, the vast majority had to buy new electronic equipment to accommodate these new working patterns. In terms of quantity, these same businesses purchased almost 100 items each for their staff, in the form or laptops, mobile phones and tablets.
Downsizing and Hot-Desking
A lot of businesses are reducing the size of their offices, and the amount of high-tech equipment they need, because they don’t need so much room. Only this week, banking giant HSBC announced that a lot of its senior staff in London’s Canary Wharf would be losing their personal offices and would have to ‘hot-desk’ on an open-plan main floor. This forms part of a drive to reduce their overall office-space by around 40%.
Some companies won’t be needing their electronic equipment any longer because they haven’t downsized but gone out of business altogether. This isn’t just the major High Street retail names like Debenhams and the Arcadia group, but smaller firms too. The Federation of Small Businesses is warning that around a quarter of a million companies could fail during 2021 without the promise of further financial help from the Government, on top of those which have already failed to survive.
All of this means that a lot of electronic devices – which appear on balance sheets as a company asset – need to be disposed of in a manner that satisfies the e-waste regulators and the company administrators.
What Should We Do About It?
WEEE Technology is well placed to ensure that all this e-waste is disposed of in a legal, ethical and sustainable fashion. We can collect your business’s IT equipment, securely wiping data and providing certificates to show this has been done.
We are partnered with Global Lifecycle Solutions EMEA, the UK distributor of WhiteCanyon WipeDrive. We use their software for our secure data erasure, and we also sell this software on to prospective customers who want to erase their own data.
Whenever we sell computers on, we share the profits with the customers. Anything that is not resold is either dismantled and sold to precious metal refiners, scrap plastic or metal merchants, or taken to companies who specialise in dealing with e-waste. Sending items to landfill is always considered a last resort.
Corporate Computer Disposal from WEEE Technology
If you would like to know more about any of our corporate computer disposal for companies in and around London, you can complete our online quote form or call us on 020 7859 4669.
