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 Technology News | November 2006 
Firms Seek to Boost Mexican Electronic Recycling
 Sanford Nax - Fresno Bee
| | Electronic Recyclers and Burillo Azcarraga Group will invest an estimated $15 million in the venture, which could begin operations in 2007. |
One of the largest electronic recycling companies in California is hooking up with a Mexican partner to open operations south of the border.
Electronic Recyclers of Fresno will partner with the Burillo Azcarraga Group to develop Electronic Recyclers International Mexico, a joint venture that eventually could recycle up to 120 million pounds of used televisions, computer monitors, cell phones and other electronic waste per year, said John Shegerian, chief executive of Electronic Recyclers.
Many of those consumer goods contain harmful products such as mercury and lead, which can leach into ground water and have been banned from landfills in California. Most also contain metals, plastic and glass that can be ground up and reused.
The partners signed the agreement at the California Environmental Expo in Monterrey, Mexico, which Gov. Schwarzenegger attended recently.
"We always wanted to do this but had never pulled the relevant people and decision-makers together. On this trip, we were able to meet them," said Shegerian, who was speaking from an airport en route to Germany to check out new equipment for his Fresno plant.
Electronic Recyclers and Burillo Azcarraga Group will invest an estimated $15 million in the venture, which could begin operations in 2007.
A site for the first plant has not been determined, Shegerian said, but a series of transfer stations, each of which could employ hundreds of people, are possible throughout Mexico. During the meeting in Mexico, company officials met with representatives of several states interested in having a plant.
A population of 103 million people and a growing Mexican middle class of 35 million to 40 million creates strong possibilities for his company, Shegerian said.
Electronic Recyclers is believed to be the first company to address the growing e-waste issue in Mexico, said Fredrik Broberg, a partner in the venture.
"Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, only has one landfill left and it will be full by third quarter of '08," he said.
Broberg said Mexico has fewer personal computers than the United States, but the country doesn't have any third parties to buy its outdated electronics, unlike big companies north of the border that recondition them and sell them to nations such as Mexico.
Julio Azcarraga, chief executive of the newly formed venture, said e-waste cannot be ignored in Mexico.
"The profound impact it has on our environment has become a paramount concern," he said in a prepared statement.
The move into Mexico is Electronic Recyclers' first expansion but isn't likely to be its last. The company is investigating potential deals in Canada and other states and is considering selling stock to the public.
The Burillo Azcarraga Group is from the same family that operates resorts, a media empire and other businesses in Mexico. |
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