Ex-APC boss to launch e-waste company

A start-up endorsed by Jebel Ali Free Zone and led by ex-APC Middle East boss Philip Hughes is bidding to become the first locally based company specialising in e-waste disposal when it officially launches early next year.

Akhdar FZCO will initially give organisations located in JAFZA the opportunity to offload unwanted IT equipment, such as old PCs or data centre materials, in a responsible and transparent manner.

With companies paying increasing attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, Akhdar is offering to manage the disposal process in conjunction with local partners and fully licensed companies in Europe that are compliant with strict legislation enforced in the EU.

“Our initial start-up phase is about the marketing, awareness and branding of this service, which involves the collection and disposal of these goods, as well as their tracking to prove that it has been done ethically — a green audit if you like,” explained Hughes.

“We won’t do any processing in Dubai initially, but we will do the sorting. If you have a metal case from a PC then there is not much point in shipping it back to Europe when there is good recycling plants here so we will split out the plastics and metals and pass those to local companies who are approved to do that work,” he added.

With the exception of certain items, such as batteries and CRT monitors, that command a fee for disposal, companies will not be charged for using the service. Akhdar will primarily generate its revenue from the sale of the reclaimed materials, as well as potential marketing opportunities with companies wishing to promote their commitment to the environment.

Hughes believes the service will appeal to vendors dealing with complicated site removal disposal of equipment or implementing end-of-life management programmes, as well as dealers selling refurbished IT equipment into emerging markets.

“I am sure they will want to partner with us to get hold of reusable and re-sellable equipment. Likewise, they will be getting access to equipment that is not needed — if we can team up with one reseller who is selling a lot of second-hand equipment and simply get them to implement an end-of-life programme so that the product is returned for scrap when it is finished then that is an achievement.”

Although Akhdar will only service JAFZA clients until the business is established, it harbours plans to acquire licences to market the service externally and even franchise the model in neighbouring countries.

“There is nobody else out there that has this particular set of federal approvals at the moment and it is a service we can offer very quickly,” said Hughes. “Once we are up and running then there is potential for additional services to come in around green IT, design work and ensuring that power management is conducted properly throughout an organisation.”

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