Contract laptop maker Wistron Corp (緯創) yesterday said it would start supplying Dell Inc with PC products using recycled electronic waste next month to promote environmental sustainability.
Wistron said it has become the US company’s first official partner in turning Dell-branded products into recycled plastics for use in manufacturing the US company’s new product line.
The e-waste recycling can help Dell — the world’s third-largest PC vendor — save on resources and reduce carbon emissions by up to 11 percent compared with using virgin plastics, Wistron said in a statement.
“Wistron’s dedication in developing electronics recycling technology is an innovative and strategic approach to minimize waste and maximize post-consumer materials,” Wistron chairman Simon Lin (林憲銘) said in a statement.
“We are pleased to see our green recycling solutions helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals,” Lin said.
Wistron investor relations director Joyce Chou (周文玲) said by telephone yesterday that the company is reusing plastics collected from scrap electronics to make casings for Dell’s forthcoming OptiPlex 3030 3030 all-in-one desktop, which is poised to hit the global market next month.
Chou added that more top-tier PC brands are likely to demand that their contract manufacturers use reusable materials, such as heavy metals, to make motherboards or batteries in the future, she said.
As such, Wistron is considering adopting a different business model, through which it sells recycled raw materials to rivals that are required to follow this trend, Chou said.
The new e-waste recycling program is expected to help drive Wistron’s sales from this quarter, as Dell plans to begin shipments of its new all-in-one product next month, she added.
Wistron is the world’s third-largest contract laptop maker after Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶).
Aside from Dell, Wistron’s other top clients are Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), Hewlett-Packard Co and Acer Inc (宏碁).
In the statement, Wistron said it provides e-waste dismantling, refurbishing and refining services for clients, with its Texas division in the US in charge of collecting and sorting circuit boards and batteries used in information and communication products, and its plant in China’s Kunshan City supplying recycled plastics.
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