Turning computer trash into cash

Lenovo has announced the availability of Lenovo Asset Recovery Services (ARS), to help business customers in EMEA manage their end-of-life technology equipment by providing computer take-back, data destruction, refurbishment and recycling. The service gives customers an environmentally-responsible method to dispose of their aging assets and also provides a cash-back provision to help offset the cost of the service. After three years, typically, a customer can receive 10% to 15% of the value back of the original purchase price of the computer.

With this eco-solution, customers can fulfil green information technology commitments knowing their equipment is disposed of in a secure and environmentally-responsible way. The new service gives customers an end-to-end solution from Lenovo from the point of computer purchase to take-back and disposal. Lenovo's expertise in managing the end-of-life computers can help customers eliminate the time and expense of managing the disposal themselves.

“We are finding that more and more of our customers are concerned about what to do with old electronics and have specific requirements for equipment take-back and disposal when purchasing new PCs,” said Rashid Wally, General Country Manager, Lenovo South Africa. “The Lenovo Asset Recovery Service is one more step in our commitment to not only provide services that meet our customers' needs, but to also be good stewards of our environment. We are focused on greening the entire lifecycle of our computers, from increasing the lifespan and designing for upgradeability, to improving energy efficiency and providing environmentally-responsible disposal,” he concluded.

The computers are disposed of according to EU and local country regulations in EMEA. Lenovo first prioritises refurbishment and reuse and then focuses on recycling. In 2007, Lenovo managed or financed the proper disposal of more than 17 000 tons of Lenovo-owned or customer-returned computer equipment. More than 93% of that was reused as products or recycled as materials.

According to Rashid Wally, managing data security and privacy risks followed by environmental risks are top customer concerns when it comes to computer disposal. And of customers surveyed, they cited convenience and ease of use as a top reason for picking an external disposal provider.

Lenovo also offers additional services including inventory, value assessment, on-site de-installation and data encryption. Lenovo can facilitate donation of the old computers or can help customers receive cash back for them.

Lenovo already introduced ARS in the US and Canada in June of this year and expects that adding this service to its existing take-back programmes will help grow customer returns by more than 30%. Lenovo also offers recycling options to individual consumers in the US and other countries around the world. Lenovo plans to expand the service to other countries later this year and early 2009.

Lenovo has also introduced several products that meet the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool's (EPEAT) Gold rating. They include most ThinkCentre and ThinkPad notebooks. Also announced today, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M58 features new Green Power Manager software, which enables system administrators to monitor and remotely control the amount of electricity used by all desktops in a PC fleet. The system is Greenguard and EPEAT Gold certified, Energy Star 4.0 rated, and as an option has the computer industry's only green fingerprint keyboard made of 35% post-consumer recycled material.

Lenovo Asset Recovery Service is available immediately to EMEA businesses and can also support international operations in 43 countries. The service is priced on a special bid basis and varies based on individual customer requirements. ARS will be sold through Lenovo sales representatives.