Rethinking E-Waste: A Conversation with Natalie King Bernard of Green Machine Computers

Welcome to this episode of Rethink What Matters with me, Paul, your podcast host. And today we are talking about the very important subject of e-waste, electronic waste, with Natalie King-Barnard of Green Machine Computers. The goal of Awardaroo is to bring the economy, ecology, and everyone into balance with regenerative business execution for a happy, healthier, and profitable future. So e-waste is spot on in helping to support this goal. Natalie will explain what e-waste is, and you may be surprised how broad Green Machine Computers' e-waste management service is. So sit back, save money, and lower your carbon footprint as Natalie tells us about e-waste.

Good morning.

Hi there.

Good afternoon or whatever.

Yeah, where are we? Afternoon, I think now. So yeah, so this— on today's Rethink What Matters podcast, we're going to be talking about e-waste. And on these podcasts, we're all about trying to create a 21st century mindset, if you like, a 21st century way of thinking and living and working. And I think e-waste is such a great subject for this. And Natalie, I know you can tell us lots about it, but in terms of one of these old ideas of the 20th century, which was this whole planned obsolescence. Can you imagine in the 20th century they used to design things to fail, to be thrown away after a short amount of time and become redundant as quickly as possible. So that's not a 21st century way of thinking at all, is it? So really interested to know more about it. I know that e-waste is a big issue. Apparently it's 70% of all toxic waste. Only 12% of it is recycled and then 85% of it ends up in landfill.

Yes, it does, and it spans from such a wide-reaching area as well. Like, you will find electronic items in every room of your house and every room in your offices as well. So it's from electronic toothbrushes to your washing machine, but electronics aren't going anywhere, so we need to start kind of dealing with disposing of them correctly and also making them so that they're more sustainable as well.

I think that's a really important point, isn't it? It's about how they get made, you know, and then what do we do with them afterwards and how long can they last for. And phones is a classic example, isn't it? Apparently the average person upgrades every 18 months.

Yeah, there are a ton of mobile phones actually. There are 3 mobile phones for every human on the Earth.

If you could just tell us about e-waste then, a little bit more about it and, you know, what exactly it is.

So e-waste stands for electronic waste, but essentially it's anything that's got wires in it or a plug or a battery or a circuit board, and they're all going to contain precious resources and chemicals in them as well. So you've got gold, silver, copper, lead, cadmium, cobalt, mercury, all kinds of stuff that we harvest from the earth and obviously aren't going to last forever. So you mentioned on the kind of toxic level that e-waste causes in the emissions, but e-waste as an industry is responsible for 2% of global emissions across the world. But that doesn't sound a lot. It's the same amount as the whole airline industry. So if you put it into that example, it's It is a lot, and because we're so reliant on technology, it's constantly growing. So the rate that we're producing e-waste is growing faster than the human population. And last year we disposed of, in weight terms, 9 times the size of the Great Pyramid of That is crazy.

That is crazy. Yeah, maybe actually might be just worth you talking a little bit more about, about Green Machine Computers Limited because, you know, what you're doing there and how you're helping your customers with their e-waste problems.

Yeah. So we work with businesses and individuals, so anyone and everyone, your layman to huge corporations. And we specialize in taking that kit when it's at the end of its lifespan and extending the lifespan essentially so that it doesn't go into a landfill. It's being put back into the community and it's reused for another 3 to 6 years, using a whole lot less on emissions, lower energy to create it all, and it's reusing all of those resources so that we're not having to mine for more. So what we'll do is a business will come to us, say they're upgrading their kit or they're moving premises or they're sadly closing down, and we'll come collect everything down to the wires, the network system, servers, cabinets, furniture, the lot. We'll remove any data-containing drives, they'll go to the specialist data centre we have on site, and then our recycling team will test and repair everything that they can. Anything that's deemed not worth repairing, it's too expensive or it's going to take too long, then goes— it gets sent to a refinery, right? We work with a refinery that will break down those parts to their core materials so that the materials can then be melted down and used again, right? However, however that goes down that pipeline. So then once everything's been tested and we've got all the good working parts, we'll put that back into a new build, rebuild a whole new computer, and then 50% of the computers we build go get sent to charities, nonprofits, and schools across the UK. So it keeps their costs down. Also keeps their emissions down as well. We do have a number of small businesses that we furnish their offices with refurbished hardware, and then we'll look after that ongoing so we can remotely log on and make sure that it's had all of its updates and make any changes that need to be made with installing drivers and things like that. And then when time comes for it, we can bring it back in, give it a clean, maybe repair it and extend it for another 6 months, or maybe just replace it with another refurbished device. But every year that we reuse that device, we're saving emissions and we're reducing the amount of resources that are needed to make brand new. So it's all doing good for the environment.

Well, that's fantastic, that's brilliant. So for companies then, you're helping to extend the life of their electronics, uh, potentially by, you know, upgrading it maybe, or replacing parts, or, you know, breathing new life into it anyway so they can use it for longer. And then if they can't keep using it, you find another use for it. If it's obviously completely broken you know, you can dispose of it, you can dispose of it as well. And then otherwise, you know, if you can repair it, give it to a charity. So there's a number of different things you're doing there, isn't there? It's not just about making sure we don't pollute the rivers and the air and the oceans. You know, it is about extending the life of it and minimizing further extraction from the natural environment.

Yeah, I think that's what kind of sets us apart a little bit from other IT asset disposal companies, and so they might offer you money for your old equipment, or they'll just come and collect it for free, but then they'll get that, the value from the materials that are inside, or they'll just sell it on to other countries that buy it at good money. And whereas we're all about putting it back into the, into the world again so that it's, let's say, extending that lifespan and reducing the environmental impact of IT hardware as a whole.

Yeah, I think that's great. It's great to hear. It really feels like that's your mission. Your mission is to minimise e-waste and use electronic products as effectively as possible, get as much life out of them as possible. So all the energy that's gone into extracting those rare metals and building the components is put to maximum use, which has got to be the name of the game, right? I mean, that's got to be what it's all about.

Oh yes, the only way that it's going to be sustainable in the future is if we kind of rethink our way of going about it a little bit better.

Yes. And I'm just curious really, what is the reception of companies to this when you say to them, you know, we've got an e-waste service? Do they want to take the time in investing in that or Do they just rather throw it away, or—

People are really happy to get rid of something that's clogging up their offices. It's just, it's more often than not, it's a bugbear for them, and they just want to get rid of it but make sure their data is safe. So that's why they would come to a business like us rather than just taking it to like a local recycling tip, because you can't guarantee your data. So we'll, we'll give all your certificates, and we can say that we've wiped all of your data from all of the drives. And we can also do a CO2 breakdown as well, which lists what we collected and the environmental impact of that.

Brilliant. So actually we didn't, it's worth talking about that a little bit more, isn't it? 'Cause that might be a reason why people wanna just take a hammer to it and smash it up or don't wanna give it to anybody else because they may be worried about data that's hidden on that device somewhere. So, You know, you can, you can manage that, then you can handle that, you can remove that data. How, how, what is the process for— do you like subject it to a—

like, forgive me, I'm not a techie. No, um, I'm not a techie. I'll explain it to you how they explained it to me. Um, so it goes into a computer and it writes lots of ones and zeros on it.

Okay.

And then it wipes that all off, and then it writes lots of ones and zeros on it, and it does that lots of times. Times. And then once it's done that X amount of times, it says, has it now— is it now blank? Is it now— now definitely got no data on it? If it failed that procedure, it gets physically destroyed on site. So we have a hard drive crushing machine, which is very fun, um, which we can just like slot it into a little post box and then you crash it and see the disk gets smashed over. And then that just goes to the metal refinery. But more often than not, it passes the, the, um, computer system.

And then there's a certificate that you provide, you said? So we just—

yes, yeah, we, we, we provide a number of certificates. You get one on the day of a collection that basically says that we're now in control of your e-waste and it's no longer your responsibility. You get another one within 21 days that just lists everything that we've got for your audit trail, right? And then you get your data destruction certificate after 28 days. Says that we've wiped all of your data compliant with GDPR. And then CO21, you don't get a standard, but if you ask me nicely, I'll do it for you.

So what should we all be doing then with our e-waste? Is there any sort of general advice you can give people? So, you know, if we were to do 2, 3, 4, 5 things?

I would say for weird miscellaneous things, go to your local recycling centre or your landfills will have electronic bins, so like lamps and vapes and things like that. They're the bugbear of my life at the moment. I see them everywhere on the floor. People just put vapes in the bin and it really bugs me. You can obviously extend the lifespan of, of your kit, and you can do that through a professional, or more often than not, looking after what you've got making sure that you clean it both digitally and physically. You'd be surprised the amount of computers that come to us that have died just because they're full of dust and they've just burnt out. So yeah, there's a lot of it's a mind shift kind of thing. So we don't need to be competing to have the latest model of iPhone and we need to be forcing companies to make their, their technology more repairable. So for some brands, it's near on impossible to repair some of their devices, but for others it's a lot easier and their parts are a lot more accessible. So it encourages you to repair them more. So yeah, that needs to change really. Yeah, be mindful about where you're purchasing it, who you're purchasing from, And when it comes to disposing of it, make sure that you're doing it in an ethical and environmental way. You're not just popping it in the bin.

Brilliant. I mean, I think just if we can raise everybody's awareness, anybody who watches this, listens to this, if we can just raise awareness, we're already making a big start on it, aren't we? Because I think a lot of people don't really consider e-waste, which they— when they should be doing. So, you know, it's obviously CO2 is what it's all about. How do we link e-waste to global warming?

There are a number of ways that it is linked to global warming, both through the improper disposal of it and the production of it. But the majority of the CO2 that is attributed to electronics will happen during the production stage. So if we were to take, say, a laptop computer as an example, The average laptop will produce 180 kilograms of CO2 or equivalent in its lifespan. It's supposed to last about 3 years on average. 150 kilograms will be produced when the laptop's made, and then it's 10 kilograms per year that is expected in use of a laptop. Taking that laptop when it's at the end of its lifespan, at the end of that 3 years, repairing it and extending the lifespan for another 2 or 3 years, then we've prevented a new laptop from needing to be made for that 3-year period. So we can basically say that we've saved 150 kilograms from that. A white paper was produced from an Oxford University student that listed all of the CO2 breakdowns for the production stage of electronics. So with that information, we've been able to calculate on average what CO2 saving each of those devices has. So when we do a collection for a customer, I can say this collection has saved you X amount of CO2 or equivalent. And then there's a nifty bit of software that I use that kind of puts that into layman's terms, so it's a little bit more accessible. So it'll say that's like driving a car for 1,000 miles, for example.

Yeah, so that's important for companies wanting to work out their footprint, you know. So whether it's Scope 1, 2, or 3, you know, are they the end user, you know, are they making it, or are they involved in building them?

So again, oh yeah, it could be Scope 3 and, and 1 if you're using reused refurbished hardware in the first place and then you're disposing of it in an ethical and environmental way, then you kind of get a few of the scopes in there.

So I think we probably talked mostly about business then, some individuals, but is there anything individuals specifically can do?

Yes, so we have a number of drop-off sites across Wiltshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Hampshire where you can drop off your small electrical items, so your phones, tablets, laptops. So we're partnered with a number of organizations and Wiltshire and Dorset Fire and Rescue Service, so they host our secure boxes which are lockable. You would come to their site, hand over any of your items, they open up the box, pop it in there, re-lock it again, and then when the box is full, we come and pick it up. So that's an easy way for you to kind of drop off at your local area. You'll be able to find that on our website, and like I say, they're kind of all over the south, south coast, a little bit in the Midlands, but most, mostly around Wiltshire.

And that's great, they're supporting your business and doing that, aren't they, which is, you know, brilliant, supporting local private business.

Yeah, it's really good, and I'm always looking for more as well. If anyone wants to be a location, I would be more than happy to have some more on the list.

Okay, well, okay, so give us your email— not your email address, your website address.

If you want to email me, you can email info@greenmachinecomputers.com. Okay. If you want to visit the website, it is www.greenmachinecomputers.com. We do also have a partner charity site, which is the-tech-hub.com, but you'll— they'll be linked in with each other anyway. That just kind of explains a bit more of the charity side of stuff that we do. Okay. So that's enable us to actually apply for government funding so that we can be able to do even more stuff with the community in the future. So that's exciting up-and-coming news, but it's still quite bare as websites go at the moment. But the Green Machine one is the main one. You can also call us on 01672 520133. It is usually me that answers the phone anyway, if I'm not on holiday.

Fantastic, I really appreciate your time. Having you on this podcast, Natalie. I know you're very busy. And as you say, you're going to be zipping off on holiday too. So thanks again and enjoy the rest of your day. You've been listening to the Rethink What Matters podcast, where our goal is to bring the economy, ecology, and everyone into balance with regenerative business execution for a happy, healthier, and more profitable future. If you've enjoyed this podcast, then please join us by subscribing, sharing, and visiting awadaru.io.