Better Companies, Better Nations, Better Planet

The Glasgow-based writer and artist Alasdair Gray is fond of a quote engraved in a wall of the Scottish Parliament building, "Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation."

It is an injunction that conjures up images of deep-rooted enthusiasm, vigor and ethical behavior, where people go earnestly about their daily tasks boosted by the knowledge that they are improving their country and the world.

Anyone familiar with this quote, and taking a tour of the Newport Computer Services building in north Rochester, after chatting to employees, might well look around for a factory wall engraving that has inspired everyone to "Work as if you live in the early days of a better company."

The visitor is bound to come away convinced that Newport and its workers have a mission in mind beyond helping the company turn a profit and giving customer satisfaction - that of making the planet a more environmentally friendly place.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that more than 40 million computers become obsolete and are discarded every year. However, only 15 percent of these computers are recycled, which means that 85 percent of them end up in U.S. landfills or are shipped overseas. Indeed, the internationally respected environmental watchdog group Basel Action Network (BAN) estimates that 80% of the electronic waste given to recyclers in the US and Canada "does not get recycled in this continent, but is quickly exported due to a lack of adequate law, or inadequate enforcement of laws that do exist."

These days there is a growing awareness among the general public - almost all of whom are computer users, if not at work, then at home - that there are components within monitors, desktops, laptops and printers, indeed inside most electronic devices, that are toxic and harmful to the environment if discarded carelessly. No longer, in many areas of the developed world can these devices be accepted for final disposition in local landfills, and there is increasing realization in the mind of the average American sparked by a number of alarming documentaries, that the answer cannot be to dump them overseas.

Disturbing television footage on 60 Minutes, PBS Frontline, CNN and other major networks of unscrupulous entrepreneurs shipping e-waste to Third World locations, to poison landfills, contaminate precious groundwater supplies and create health hazards for an often unwitting native population, has been a sharp wake-up call.

This makes the services offered by Newport all the more vital, and leaves the visitor with an enhanced appreciation for and understanding of the employees' enthusiasm, vigor and nigh obsession with ethical behavior.

Newport Computer Services was founded in 1994, which makes it young company with enough experience under its belt to have charted its direction and developed a code of ethics that has won the approval and accolades of top environmental watchdog groups, including the EPA and New Hampshire Environmental Protection Agency.

For a small (but growing) company like Newport to not just achieve the internationally coveted e-Steward certification, but also to be one of the first three firms in the world to meet BAN's exacting standards, is amazing!

It should be a clarion call to all computer users - from major corporations right down to students with a laptop - that come disposal time, this is a company that can be trusted to do the right thing, from data wiping, security and tracking, to harvesting, testing and reselling usable components. Most important of all, the computer user can have absolute peace of mind that no components from their electronic equipment will ever become a hazard to others, something to consider in an ever more litigious world.

Certainly, there are a growing number of companies across the U.S. offering to recycle electronic goods, but people, organizations and business trying to do the right thing when disposing of their old equipment must be on their guard.

The online site www.osnews.com sounds the alarm by reporting "Companies known as 'fake recyclers' approach well-meaning organizations - charities, churches, and community organizations - and offer to hold a Recycling Day. The charity provides publicity, legitimacy, and a parking lot for the event. On the designated day, well-meaning residents drop off their old electronics for recycling. The fake recycler picks it up in their trucks, hauls it away for shipping, and makes money by exporting it to Chinese or African "recycling" centers. Nobody's the wiser."

Well, in recent months, the EPA has become the wiser, and several prosecutions of "fake recyclers" are now under way. One interesting question that remains is: Are the duped original owners of the e-waste absolved of legal responsibility? It's something to consider.

That Newport Computer Services, with its successful and highly trustworthy business model, is expanding its operations should be good news for all planet lovers, for this will be the standard that other companies increasingly have to meet. Newport now has a second U.S. facility in Morrisville, North Carolina and is in the process of expanding to Nevada, to serve the south and west of the United States.

In addition, Newport Computer Service's facility in Bangalore, India - operating to the same trustworthy standards as home base - is thriving, and the company is now in the process of creating a pan-India footprint, by setting facilities in Mumbai and Delhi, with others to follow.

Plus, after a yearlong process, permission has just been granted by the Chinese authorities to set up a facility in the People's Republic of China.

"Work as if you live in the early days of a better company!"

Not every employee in the United States can nod and say, "I do, already," but the folks at Newport are able to.

Newport Computer Services, Inc. is located in Rochester, New Hampshire and specializes in IT asset recovery and the safe & secure disposal & recycling of e-waste, used, old computers & electronic equipment. They also offer quality refurbished computers and other computer parts for sale.

Newport Computer Services, Inc.
20 Spaulding Ave.
Rochester, NH 03868
603-926-4300

http://www.newportcomputers.com
sales@newportcomputers.com
On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/NewportComp
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Newport-Computer-Services/116629398414050