Circular IT provider, Stone Group has today announced that over half a million items of unwanted tech hardware have been saved from landfill thanks to the Stone 360 app. Created to help organisations arrange the responsible disposal of their unwanted IT assets at the touch of a screen, the app has been downloaded by 11,000 businesses across the UK and is regularly used by thousands of organisations to help them responsibly dispose of their old or broken IT.
Committed to salvaging any items of IT hardware that can be saved and given a second life, Stone Group offers its customers a cost-effective alternative to always purchasing new. Any used hardware including monitors, laptops, desktops, printers, and servers that can’t be refurbished are fully broken down to their core components and recycled, ensuring nothing ends up in landfill. Due to the success of the app, from April, Stone’s IT asset disposal (ITAD) facility will operate 24×7 to keep up with demand for its recycling services.
Stone Group will soon be launching the second iteration of the Stone 360 app and the latest version will help organisations meet important regulations on electronic waste disposal. In 2020, the Government announced that when disposing of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), organisations must classify items that contain hazardous substances or persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The latest version of the Stone 360 app will help users classify any items that contain harmful substances and identify those that can be successfully refurbished.
Electronic waste is one of the world’s fastest growing waste streams. Researchers have estimated that the amount of WEEE discarded last year will weigh more than 57 million tonnes – heavier than the Great Wall of China. Most electronic items contain some form of toxic material such as Chromium, Lead or Zinc, and when it ends up in landfill, it can seep into the environment infesting soil and water; contaminating wildlife, livestock, and crops. Many of these unwanted items also contain precious metals including copper, iron, gold, silver, and platinum much of which is dumped rather than recycled.
Craig Campion, director of ITAD sales, Stone Group said: “We all need to do more to protect our planet, but unfortunately more and more electronic waste is being created every day and recycling levels are just not keeping pace.
“As a provider of IT to the public and private sector, we are committed to playing a significant role in helping organisations dispose of their end-of-life IT in the right way. The Stone 360 app has been a revolutionary in helping our customers increase their recycling efforts by enabling quick and easy collections and responsible disposal of unwanted items.
“We’ve recently seen our multi-award-winning app reach over 3,000 businesses with a workforce of over four million, the majority of whom will use some form of IT hardware. We are aiming to at least double the reach of the Stone 360 app this year and we anticipate that the addition of our new functionality to help organisations comply with Government legislation on IT disposal will drive this.”
Organisations using the Stone 360 app receive a rebate for any items that can be salvaged, they can cash it in, boost the rebate by 20% to use it to procure new or refurbished IT hardware from Stone. Alternatively, some customers have chosen to give the rebate to either their chosen charity or one of the charities Stone supports.
Once a customer collection has been arranged with Stone, the unwanted tech is taken to its IT Asset Disposal facility in Staffordshire. A team of skilled engineers securely process and wipe all items of any data using industry-leading software from Blancco. All items are then either given a second life or responsibly recycled.
Stone’s ITAD facility is fully accredited with certifications including ISO 27001: Information Security Management, ADISA Distinction, DIPCOG and Cyber Essentials, and Valpak.
On release, the new version of the Stone 360 app will be available for free download on both iOS and Android devices.
