GreenStream handles electronics recycling with ease

Now that we’re in the digital age, technology and electronic devices are more readily available than ever before. Want to know where your shipment is at this very instant? Download an app on your Smartphone. Want to manage your warehouse more efficiently? Try a cloud-based warehouse management system.

The greatest truth with technology and electronic devices is that they’re constantly evolving. But when last generation’s Smartphone, PC or server becomes outdated, where does it go?

Thankfully, there are companies like GreenStream International that handle the complete demanufacturing process for electronic devices.

“We know that we are following very defined processes, and that’s huge in this business,” GreenStream International CEO Antony Francis said. “You have to essentially destroy the device because we have a zero landfill policy.”

THE BENEFITS OF ELECTRONICS RECYCLING

GreenStream International, like its competitors, recycles, remarkets and adds value to outdated and end-of-life retired wireless devices by recycling the electronic components. What sets GreenStream International apart is the bevy of certifications the company has acquired.

The company is both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified, and is close to acquiring its r2 recycling certification.

“There are very, very few companies out there that have all three certifications, and to get those you obviously have to be following some pretty high standards,” Francis said.

GreenStream International is helped out on the logistics side of the equation by a Red Prairie SmartTurn warehouse management system, which is cloud-based.

“We track everything that comes in on the dot, whether it’s a single device or a pallet full of materials, and it’s traced all the way through,” Francis explains. “When we have harvested parts, we have them identified by serial number and they’re shipped off, so we have total track and trace on everything.”

That last part is critical, as the company’s certifications state that GreenStream International is held liable to its customers should an electronic device fail to be recycled properly.

The company takes care of that part of the process, however, and even adds value to the recycling process. Francis says that GreenStream International is investigating the process or remarketing old medical electronic equipment to third-world countries, where it can be put to use.

“We churn out medical equipment here at a furious rate,” Francis said. “It would be of monumental help if we could reach the world markets where older equipment could serve as state-of-the-art medical help for those people.”