UK corporates criticised for failing to recycle IT equipment

UK corporates are failing to take IT hardware recycling seriously, and it could put them the wrong side of the law according to a report published this morning.

The survey - conducted by research agency Ronin on behalf of ICL - found a huge disparity in the scope and effectiveness of recycling programmes in FTSE 500 companies.

Most activity concentrated on recycling paper, reducing waste and saving energy, but few had created proper tracking and recycling programmes for their IT equipment.

According to the Ronin report, those failures could put companies in trouble with the law when the next wave of EC environmental legislation comes into force.

The European Council is currently creating new legislation designed to reduce the amount of harmful substances, like lead, being used in equipment, and to stop old hardware being thrown away without treatment.

Joy Boyce, head of corporate environmental affairs at ICL and chairman of the Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling, warned: "People aren't looking at the bigger picture. They don't have an integrated supply strategy and don't think about environmental issues in procurement. Nobody is pushing for these changes to go right through the business."

According to Boyce, it won't just be corporates that are affected by the changes. "Hardware vendors will have to change. Products need to be designed so harmful substances can be easily removed at end of life," he said.

The new legislation will also make IT suppliers and service companies partially responsible for ensuring customers track and dispose of old equipment properly.

Boyce added that companies like retailer Marks & Spencer, which recycles and refurbishes old equipment for use elsewhere in the company, have made substantial savings on service costs. "Companies have to learn that environmental and business benefits can go hand in hand," she said.