Technology recycling specialist Circular Computing has this week announced the launch of a new Remanufacturing-as-a-Service (RaaS) model that aims to make it easier for businesses nationwide to ensure their old technology equipment is re-used or recycled.
Circular Computing said it developed the new tech remanufacturing model to help tackle the growing e-waste crisis. According to the electronic waste group WEEE Forum, the amount of electrical equipment discarded in 2021 weighed more than 57 million tonnes, which is heavier than the Great Wall of China.
The launch of Remanufacturing-as-a-Service (RaaS) will see Circular Computing take in current or incumbent laptop estates from companies and send them through its Circular Remanufacturing Process to give laptops a second life, allowing them to be reused by firms.
The new service model will make it easier for businesses to ensure their equipment is properly handled at the end of life, while also helping them to cut costs, reduce waste levels, and deliver on their sustainability targets, the company said.
Circular Computing said that using remanufactured laptops lowers businesses’ Scope 3 value chain emissions and protects natural resources, while also minimizing the cost of sourcing new laptops.
As such, the company also highlighted the financial benefits of the service, predicting that it offers companies an opportunity to lower their IT procurement costs by as much as 70 per cent.
At a fixed cost of £150 per laptop, the remanufactured laptops are built to serve another full lifecycle of use. Circular Computing said that remanufacturing is at the heart of the circular economy and helps to prevent overconsumption of additional resources, avoids e-waste from the disposal of old hardware, and reduces the pressure of supply issues on an already strained tech industry.
“The founding principles of Circular Computing were to disrupt the tech industry, so that it protects the future of our environment, planet, and respective industries,” said Rod Neale, founder and chief executive at the company. “The industry’s current model of take, make and replace is both unsustainable and outdated making it ripe for disruption.
“We now have the technology and expertise to be able to prolong the lifecycle of existing technology to ensure precious natural resources are protected and old hardware does not add to the concerning e-waste crisis.
Steve Haskew, head of sustainability at Circular Computing, hailed second-life hardware as a potential solution to the growing e-waste crisis.
“The introduction of our new RaaS offering democratises access to the innovative remanufacturing processes we have built over years of experience, meaning businesses can make substantial changes to their operations and meet important ESG targets without spending more money,” he said.
The remanufactured laptops are certified as equal to, or better than new, by the BSI Kitemark. Martin Townsend, director for the British Standards Institution Center of Excellence for Sustainability, said the BSI Kitemark had been awarded to Circular Computing for its “revolutionary” process for delivering re-manufactured laptops and added that the process “can clearly positively change how the tech industry you work.”
.