Waste management firm Sita has sold its computer recycling business, MIREC, to Sims Group. Terms were undisclosed.

Through the purchase, Sims Group, a publicly quoted Australian materials recycler, extends its reach from the UK to mainland Europe, where Eindhoven-based Mirec has operations or partnerships in 11 countries. The company can now offer a plausible global recycling presence for multinational electrical equipment manufacturers - it also operates in North America, Australia and East Asia. In the UK, the enlarged group now has 600 employees operating from 32 sites. Sims UK numbers Canon and Brother as customers.

But at some point, PCs and sundry electronics equipment must be recycled for re-use of materials, some of which - such as the mercury and lead used in cathode ray tubes - are poisonous. MIREC has a CRT disposal plant, which fits in nicely with Simms' speciality. The group turns over a billion euros a year, recycling everything from fridges to cars to plastics.

Sims Group press release. ®

Related stories

Dell jumps on UK recycling bandwagon
Old PCs are goldmine for data thieves
How to make hard cash from old IT
Brace your IT budget for green impact
Dell and HP have a green moment
Microsoft charity licence gets lukewarm welcome
Toxic PCs destroy life as we know it
PC disposal: recycle or build for durability?