14 October 2019
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Wisetek, a global leader in advanced IT asset disposal, data destruction, technology reuse and manufacturing services, is calling on Irish companies to ensure that they adhere to proper ethical E-Waste collection and destruction principles.
This comes in advance of International E-Waste Day on Monday 14th October, an initiative driven by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum.
Wisetek is hosting an E-Waste collection week at their sites in Cork, running from 14th until 18th October. Employees and their friends and families will be encouraged to bring along any unwanted electrical equipment they wish to recycle.
Sean Sheehan, CEO of Wisetek, said: “Wisetek is delighted to be inviting all our employees, friends and family members to bring-in any unwanted electrical waste for responsible recycling, for the working week commencing on 14th October. Through this initiative, we are hoping to do our part to raise awareness of this often overlooked area of sustainability.”
According to figures from the WEEE Forum, the amount of E-Waste being produced around the globe is rising by 3 – 4% annually. A further 50 million tonnes of E-Waste will be generated around the world in 2019. Just 10 million tonnes of this E-Waste will be recorded, properly collected and treated, with the remaining 40 million tonnes being dumped in landfills, burnt or illegally traded.
Wisetek operates a Zero Landfill Policy and has processed over 100,000 metric tonnes of electronic equipment and over 15 million parts to date.
The Cork-based company has erased and destroyed over 10 million disk drives and over 7,000 enterprise rack systems have been refurbished or newly manufactured. This amounts to approximately €1 billion in components recovered for its clients’ internal use.
Sean concluded: “E-Waste output is growing at an exponential rate, globally. Due to the materials contained in them, it is of vital importance for organisations to ensure that they have a robust process in place and are working with a reputable vendor. E-Waste contains many hazardous materials that, if not treated, it can have detrimental effects on the environment and people’s health.”
