Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling firm environCom has signed a contract to process electrical waste on behalf of the UKs largest builders merchant and DIY retailer, Travis Perkins Group.
The Lincolnshire-based firm, which already counts Dixons Retail among its portfolio of clients, will treat waste electrical items arising from Travis Perkins 1,800 branches across the UK, which includes DIY chain Wickes and Travis Perkins Building Supplies.
The length of the deal has not been revealed but speaking to letsrecycle.com, environCom chief executive Sean Feeney commented that the contract represented a substantial award for the company.
He said: Were delighted to have this opportunity to work with Travis Perkins who like us want to do the right thing for unwanted electrical items and give them a new lease of life. Its another step towards changing the way people think about WEEE, something we at EnvironCom are spearheading.”
Mr Feeney added: We are very happy to have won this contract and we feel that it reinforces our specialism in retail. I see part of our role as being that voice on behalf of retailers because we understand the retail sector and WEEE so its our responsibility to ensure their voice is heard.
Reuse
environComs 10 million flagship WEEE recycling and reuse facility in Grantham has the capacity to process up to 100,000 tonnes of WEEE a year including large domestic appliances, mixed WEEE and cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and also has a dedicated area for reuse of items that are still functional.
The company is keen to ensure it channels any functional WEEE back into use and in October 2011 it opened ar 10,000 tonne per year reuse-only facility in Edmonton, North London (see letsrecycle.com story).
The Edmonton facility is dedicated to function testing and repairing items for redistribution to UK charities, including environComs largest client, the British Heart Foundation.
Capacity
The company claims that the amount of material processed at its two facilities jumped from 43,000 to 60,000 tonnes between 2010 and the end of 2011, and anticipates that it will exceed 100,000 tonnes at the Grantham plant within three years.
John Leader, group environment manager at Travis Perkins Group, said: This agreement with Environcom allows us to exceed the requirements of the WEEE Directive, and enables us to recycle and return electronic equipment in one easy step.
“Whats more, it makes sound economic and environmental sense to re-use those items and give them a new lease of life. This is something environCom are experts at.
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