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

Through the purchase, Sims Group (http://www.sims-group.com/), 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.

According to Sims, MIREC is Europe's leading Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycler. This European directive is translated into UK law next year and has already gone live in some countries. The directive places emphasis on re-use of equipment as well as recycling; MIREC has developed expertise in asset management and data destruction - both necessary, if organisations with big PC fleets are to participate willingly in re-use schemes.

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 (http://www.sims-group.com/global/news.asp?id=271#). ®

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