Published by Programme B
If recycling is an integral part of everyone’s daily life today, Éric Després is a pioneer in his field with his company Info Liquidation Recycle. Founded in 2005, the firm specializes in the recovery and recycling of used computers and electronic equipment from businesses in the Greater Montreal area. Meeting with the founder and director of the company.
From scratch
“I started out on my own in my basement buying lots of computer products that people didn’t use anymore. It was a kind of a side-line, says the director of the company. Then, with $ 1,000 in my pocket, I bought myself a truck and rented a 300 square foot space. In 2008, I moved to a 1,000 square foot facility and it became my full-time business. This led me to invest in 3,000 square foot premises in 2010 until November 2020, where I bought a 6,000 square foot warehouse. Constantly evolving, the company has seen its team grow as well. “From 2008, I had one employee, then two, then four. Today it varies, but in heavy periods you can go up to seven employees “.
A simple and efficient service
Only intended for companies, whether for SMEs, multinationals, government agencies, etc., the service is simple and free. In fact, when they wish to get rid of their used computer equipment, all they have to do is request it via the pick-up form. “In general, we collect the material two to three days after the request. Usually, I have at least one to two trucks running every day, which represents between four and eight pickups per day, says Eric Després. Yearly, that represents more than 1,000 collections per year for a volume of more than 400,000 tonnes of recycled material, that is to say obsolete, defective, or broken computer equipment. We also deal with the destruction of sensitive data on hard drives, cell phones, or USB sticks. ”
Recycle or repair
Once the material has been recovered, the Info Liquidation Recycle team takes care of restoring it through various processes. “Either we offer a second life to the device by repairing it and reselling it, otherwise we resell the parts and if really we can no longer do anything with it, we recycle it for precious metals such as gold, platinum, copper, aluminum, explains the entrepreneur. For recycling and remaking, the older the device, the more precious metals it will contain, because, for example, gold was much cheaper 20 years ago than it is today. While for repair and resale, it is better if the material is recent. We only sell online or wholesale for specialty stores. I have to say that online sales exploded during the pandemic, sometimes I had to work 7 days a week with the help of my wife “.
Operate and develop responsibly
Aware of social and environmental issues, the company seeks to develop its activity under the best conditions and in accordance with its values. “We are always looking for better partners to recover the material as ecologically as possible. Says Éric Després. I am thinking in particular of those who buy “computer scrap” from us by pallet, I try to get the best price but also to have it done in the best possible way. Therefore, I don’t want it to end up in countries like China or Pakistan where the working conditions are terrible. For example, for the recovery of metals, we do business with a company in Rouyn-Noranda that recovers gold, copper in printed circuits. It is very important that it stays in Canada, and even more specifically in Quebec and Ontario, and that it ends up in landfills as little as possible. Sometimes we also export to the US, but in any case, it has to be done under the best possible conditions. ”
For more information, you can visit Info Liquidation Recycle