Sustainability and environmental responsibility within the telecoms industry

MF Communications would like to thank its customers for their continued support and commitment to the ethos of sustainability and environmental responsibility through the purchase of remanufactured and refurbished telecoms equipment.

We are all responsible for looking after our planet and supporting a circular economy, one which aims to restore and regenerate, assuring products, components and materials remain at their highest value.

Your commitment to the reduction of electronic waste and the safe disposal of redundant equipment falls in line with our long-standing policies. Long committed to sustainability and the re-use and recycling of used telecoms equipment, MF Communications is BS EN ISO 14001 compliant and accredited as an environmentally responsible organisation. Fully compliant with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, electronic equipment that cannot be re-used is broken down for spare parts or recycled following the WEEE Directive.

We believe reducing waste and reducing the environmental impact of production and consumption should be at the top of every organisation’s agenda and we look forward to continuing to support you with your communications needs in the future.

Organisations have a responsibility towards the environment and to factor sustainability into their working practices.

The most commonly used definition of sustainability comes from the World Commission on Environmental Development (WCED) report, 1987 which states:

‘Sustainability is development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’

There has been a shift in recent years towards sustainable procurement. In broad terms, this means balancing the need for value for money in terms of goods, services, and utilities, with a responsibility towards the benefits of society, the environment and the economy as a whole.

Constant and rapid advancement in communications technology, whilst of obvious benefit to businesses, has had an unfortunate negative impact on the environment.

The UN warns that the world could face mountains of electronic waste in the coming years. Within the telecoms industry, there is a particularly high turnover of equipment, due to the constant upgrading of technology and also a movement away from hardware towards the cloud.

New, cutting-edge systems and applications are being introduced all the time and this has lead to a vast turnover of equipment.

With few UK businesses having a policy for dealing with surplus equipment, much ends up in landfill. This results in hazardous waste, when in fact it often still holds value and could be remanufactured and resold in good or as new condition.

Surplus and redundant equipment is a real issue in the telecoms sector.

Communications systems are one of the biggest contributors to electronic waste.

Electronic waste is a particular problem for the environment due to the materials used in the equipment, such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, plastics, gold, copper and palladium. There are up to 40 separate chemical elements incorporated into electronic waste, all of which are highly hazardous to the environment if not disposed of or recycled correctly.

E-waste collected for recycling has historically been exported to places like China, India or Pakistan, where it ends up in recycling plants. These less-developed countries are at full capacity though, which mean they are taking less and less of our waste. More often than not, it ends up on wasteland, where it becomes a health hazard, particularly to children, who frequent these areas looking for valuable materials to sell.

Businesses have an obligation to ensure they dispose of their redundant electrical equipment in a responsible and safe way.

Globally, now, there is a vibrant trade in refurbished telecoms equipment — the Green Telecoms Market is a secondary market the utilises used telecoms equipment.

When manufacturers upgrade their telecoms equipment, they declare the original products ‘end of life’. This means they will no longer produce any of the hardware associated with these systems or provide support or maintenance for them.

For businesses using manufacturer-discontinued telecoms equipment, the decision is whether to upgrade to a new system or find a way to continue operating their existing one.

The used telecoms market provides a way for businesses to continue operating their end-of-life telecoms systems for as long as they need them.

Not only does this provide cost savings for the organisations, it is also a sustainable and environmentally responsible approach. Keeping existing telecoms equipment in use saves it from ending up as e-waste and reduces the environmental impact of new equipment production.

Finding a telecoms re-seller you can trust.

There is a difference between cleaning up a piece of telecoms equipment and re-selling it, as opposed to completely re-manufacturing the equipment to as-new condition.

At MF Communications, spare parts, telephones, PSUs, cables, consoles and many other remanufactured items come boxed, with new cords, remade plastic housing and literature packs, as well as a one-year warranty.

“At MF Communications, our aim is to help organisations realise the value or their existing telecoms equipment,” says Managing Director, Fraser Young.

“With our Asset and Recovery Scheme, we can help companies free up space by relieving them of any obsolete, legacy or unwanted telecoms equipment. Not only does this ensure this surplus-to-requirement equipment is disposed of in the most responsible way, but it can also generate an additional income for the business.”

One man’s waste is another man’s treasure.

It is time to take responsibility for ensuring old telecoms equipment does not end up in landfill sites. Reducing waste and reducing the environmental impact of production and consumption should be at the top of every organisation’s agenda.

MF Communications can support you with the continued operation of your existing telecoms system. Find out the cost benefits of buying quality used hardware over brand-new, and realise the value of your unwanted equipment.

Be assured anything carrying the MF Communications’ name and logo comes with the quality associated with a genuine certified remanufacturing process and with the same warranty and support as would be expected with a new product.

Contact us, or call 01892 514687 for more information.