Recycling
We have selected preferred suppliers which our operating companies can use to recycle waste paper and equipment. In our last report, we significantly over-reported the amount of paper and cardboard we recycled in 2007 due to inaccurate reporting by one operating company.
In 2008, a further eight UK operating companies signed contracts with our preferred recycling supplier, bringing the total to 14. Through this supplier, the companies recycled 311,479 kg of paper, cardboard, cans, plastic and glass, a 137% increase from 2007.
| Recycling/Kg | |
|---|---|
| Mobile/cell phones | 1,174 |
| Computer equipment | 85,045 |
| Paper and cardboard | 2,810,786 |
| Printer cartridges | 373,078 |
| Other waste recycled | 1,024,267 |
| Total recycled | 4,294,350 |
Mobile/cell phones
WPP companies use mobile technology extensively which is frequently upgraded. We have introduced Vodafone’s Fonebak Freepost recycling scheme to our offices across Europe. Employees can send their used mobile equipment to Fonebak for re-use and recycling.
IT equipment
We have contracted IBM to manage our obsolete IT equipment. As a first choice, equipment is refurbished and sold for reuse. If this is not possible, it is broken down for recycling and, as a last resort, is disposed of in an environmentally-sensitive way.