Organisations will be able to put their unwanted IT equipment to profitable use, thanks to a new asset recovery partnership between IBM and Europe’s largest end-of-life IT asset management company, RDC.

The partnership comes at a time when there is increased focus on IT asset recovery with the impending WEEE Directive encouraging the reuse and recycling of electronic waste and also the demand for companies to demonstrate corporate responsibility.

RDC has been awarded the exclusive contract to manage IBM’s Asset Recovery Solutions program in Austria, Belgium, Eire, France, Holland, Luxemburg, Germany, Switzerland and the United KingdomIBM Global Financing specialises in the refurbishment, remarketing and disposal of IT products, and currently processes over 900,000 PC units annually including both IBM and non-IBM product.

Under the agreement, RDC will work with IBM to provide an end-to-end asset recovery service enabling businesses to maximise the value of their IT assets, and reduce the complexity associated with redeployment and disposal.

Gerry Hackett, managing director of RDC, a subsidiary of Computacenter, commented, “Companies with three to four year refresh cycles find that, on average, two-thirds of used and surplus IT equipment can be resold or redeployed. This not only provides a company with an additional stream of revenue but also helps to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.”

As IBM’s Accredited Asset Recovery Solutions Provider, RDC will help organisations assess the potential value of their redundant IT assets, and prepare units for remarketing. Eligible assets will be purchased from customers by IBM, who will then absorb the inventory risk during the sales cycle to a third party.

David Johnson, PC Business Manager for IGF GARS for Europe, Middle East and Africa, commented, “Many companies are not aware of the re-marketable value of their IT assets, or are reluctant to resell their equipment due to the perceived security risk. By working with RDC, we are able to reduce the complexity associated with asset recovery and ensure that all legislative requirements surrounding the disposal of used IT assets are met, and at the same time give customers the security and comfort of operating within a documented and auditable IBM Asset Recovery process.”

“RDC has an excellent track record in asset recovery, and is one of the market leaders in Europe,” commented Johnson. “By utilising its resources and skills, IBM can offer a more cost-effective service to our customers, and ensure that all necessary security and environmental procedures are followed. This agreement reinforces IBM’s commitment to asset recovery globally, and enables us to provide an enhanced regional service to customers.”

The WEEE Directive, which is now expected to become law in January 2006, is designed to reduce the amount of material being dumped into landfill sites and will impact the disposal of all unwanted IT assets.

“IT asset recovery is a highly regulated process, and one that can be extremely daunting and costly for organisations to attempt in-house. IBM’s solution provides a seamless service for product takeback and remarketing of unwanted assets, offering customers maximum return for minimum effort,” added Hackett.

In its first year, IBM expects more than 100,000 devices to be processed at RDC operation centres in Essex,UK, Cologne, Germany and Paris, France.

The Environment Agency has confirmed that RDC the leading UK reuse and recycling organisation headquartered in Witham, Essex, has been successful in our application to become an Authorised Approved Treatment Facility (AATF) for Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE).

RDC’s AATF registration is WEEE / BG0002ZS / ATF is dated 18 June 2007, one of the first issued to any organisation in England and Wales in preparation for the UK WEEE Regulations that come into force on 1 st July 2007.

RDC are part of the Computacenter Group a leading European independent provider of IT infrastructure services.

RDC Managing Director Gerry Hackett adds, “Becoming an AATF permits RDC to offer legally compliant WEEE recovery and recycling services to new and existing customers. RDC already hold a waste management licence covering most WEEE and related packaging and are also certified to the international environmental management system standard, ISO 14001.”

Whereas most used computers processed by RDC are refurbished for reuse with remarketing earning revenue for former owners, some have to be recycled as they are electrically unsafe, damaged beyond economic repair or obsolete.

The WEEE Directive requires that hazards in computers are removed from the waste stream to prevent contamination and pollution. Gerry Hackett notes “Computers contain many materials chosen for their technical function but potentially harmful to human health and our environment. Computers may contain cadmium, lead, mercury and arsenic – linked to cancer, brain and blood diseases, hence the WEEE Regulations. “

The WEEE Regulations set targets for the recycling of waste computers whereby at lease 65% must be recycled and a further 10% recovered by reuse or waste to energy incineration. Garry Hackett states “RDC achieve 100% computer recovery with nothing going to landfill, producing a mass balance of the materials recovered and reporting on this to customers. RDC track unwanted computer items through the recycling process to ensure that all links in the recycling supply chain operate in environmentally responsible ways.”