Dive Brief:
- ER2 Electronic Responsible Recyclers of Mesa, AZ is adding a $1.8 million e-waste recycling facility in Memphis, TN. ER2 also operates Revive IT, an e-waste recycling firm that refurbishes Fortune 500 companies’ information technology equipment and distributes it. Both operations were launched in 2012.
- ER2 said it's the only one of three certified electronic recycling facilities in Memphis equipped to serve the entire area. When ER2 destroys proprietary data — as certified by the National Association of Information Destruction — it refurbishes and repurposes equipment to be remarketed and sold through Revive IT. "If not done properly, you could easily be breached," co-owner Chris Ko told Waste 360 in an email. The majority of ER2’s revenue comes from its product sales, so clients are rarely charged for recycling services, Ko said.
- The company purchased a building in Memphis for $395,000 and plans to invest $1.8 million to turn the nearly 100,000-square-foot facility into a certified electronic recycling and refurbishing center in October. The expansion will also allow for the employment of 65 workers.
Dive Insight:
Electronics are a booming business and so is electronic waste recycling.
ER2 is trying to be good corporate citizen. Ko said the refurbished building will use recycled materials and have LED lighting throughout that will cut electricity use by 50%. Also, ER2 is using the FastTrack Job Training Assistance Program, which pays 50% of an employee's salary during on-the-job training.
The e-waste recycling sector expanded in February, as Mount Pleasant, MI-based 3S International formed partnerships with several recycling firms.
