The Leading Edge - Fall 2007 - (Page 8)

technology Riding e-cycle can mean green for your business B eing green is about more than doing good for the environment. For businesses that understand e-cycling—being green with their electronic equipment also means saving money and, in some cases, earning dollars. Since 1983, Materials Process Corp. has built a business focused solely on electronic recycling. “We were green before green was green,” says Todd Schachtman, president of global sales. Today, the electronics recycler, a client of Leading Edge Alliance firm Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, boasts more than 2,600 clients and is ISO certified. Its future remains bright given the volume of electronic equipment being used and tossed each year. The National Safety Council and the Environmental Protection Agency estimate more than 130 million cell phones are discarded and 250 million computers become obsolete each year. MPC works with companies to recycle their computers and other equipment after they purchase new equipment. “Every single computer component is recycled,” says Schachtman. “You walk our site and you won’t find a Dumpster.” He advises that MPC first sees if reuse, which is the best way to recycle the whole unit, is possible after the computer/server has been wiped and tested. When reuse of the complete unit is not viable or the client recycling the computers does not want them remarketed, MPC employees work by hand to deconstruct the electronic equipment piece by piece. As a result, MPC has become a great source for hard-to-find or obsolete computer replacement parts such as integrated circuits, semiconductors, transistors, diodes, capacitors, connectors and inductors. It also operates an electronic precious metals recovery program—taking the precious metals from circuit boards, connectors and backplates present in most computers. Employees examine each component, shred, sample and determine the quantities and purity of the precious metals. For example, a customer ships printed circuit boards for e-cycling. MPC weighs the shipment then recovers re-marketable parts. The hazardous components and non-refinable material are removed. The boards are shredded into smaller pieces before being shipped to a smelter. The smelter then heats the pieces to create an ash, which is then screened and divided into fractions to figure out the quantity of gold, silver, palladium and platinum from the original shredded material. Another example of e-cycling involves the steel frames and cabinet covers of computers. MPC works with a local steel re-melting plant that uses the material to produce reinforcing rods for concrete used by the construction industry. Aluminum in the products is smelted into 2,000-pound blocks that are then sold to aluminum manufacturers. The options for ecycling seem almost endless. Schachtman and MPC’s David Kutoff say that prospecting for clients really is not a sales process but an educational one so companies can learn about of all the possibilities and benefits of e-cycling. “Today’s environmental stewardship has met the economics of business,” Kutoff says. “It’s the right thing to do and, more often than not, you can make money off it.” Clients find that dispensing of their outdated electronic equipment costs them nothing—or even makes them some money. Schachtman says once a client hires MPC, it rarely leaves. The same can be said for MPC employees—the average tenure is 11.3 years—all of whom work in a zero-landfill environment. “We know exactly where everything goes down to the crust of the bread from someone’s lunch. We’ve created our own fabric,” Schachtman says. “It’s just second nature, a microcosm of what do on a global level.” e PLANNING FOR NEW TECH MEANS PLANNING FOR OLD TECH DISPOSAL One of the first steps in preparing for new technology in your business is to identify what to do with your old technology, says Marc Meyer, a senior network engineer at SS&G Financial Services, a Leading Edge Alliance firm. “Plan what you’re going to do with the old when you purchase the new,” he says. Options can include recycling, donating or offering an employee purchase program. He points to retail outlets such as Staples and Office Max that will recycle printer cartridges. Dell has a recycling option when a new computer is purchased. For a small fee, it will take the computer, wipe the hard drive and certify that it’s clean. Meyer says wiping the data from the hard drive is a must. Disk-sanitizing programs are available that write over the hard drive. He recommends having the software make at least three “passes” to ensure the hard drive is clean. If you’re donating the sanitized computer, consider if your licensing would allow you to reinstall the operating system—a benefit for the recipient but a possible violation if you surpass the licenses allowed for that software. SS&G also has used an employee-purchase program to get rid of its outdated electronic equipment. Meyer explains for a nominal cost such as $40 to $50, employees were able to buy a 3-year-old computer. He says the most important consideration for any company getting rid of its equipment is to find a reputable and trustworthy way to handle the disposal. VOLUME 8 n ISSUE 1 n FALL 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leading Edge - Fall 2007

Contents More than Money Riding E-Cycles Can Mean Green for Your Business Business Across State Lines - The Tax Implications Holiday Recognition? Bits & Pieces In a Nutshell: Q&A The Leading Edge Alliance

The Leading Edge - Fall 2007

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