PRM hits back at 'puzzling attack' from peers

IT disposal firm addresses 'glaring mistruths' contained in open letter written by larger competitor Sims

The directors of an IT asset disposal (ITAD) firm have branded an open letter criticising an MP's promotion of its services as a "puzzling attack" on their company.

Cannock-based outfit PRM Green Technology has found itself at the centre of a debate about the validity of "free" IT disposal services after its local MP, Aidan Burley, drew attention to its services in a Westminster debate last week.

Burley's comments, which included the accusation that anyone charging firms for disposing of their old IT kit are "skimming extra cream off the top", immediately drew the ire of many established firms in the sector.

Jon Godfrey, a director at long-standing ITAD firm Sims Lifecycle Services, was moved to write an open letter on the issue in which he accused Burley of showing a "complete lack of understanding of the technology recycling industry". Others, including Steve Mellings, who heads up industry body ADISA, backed him up by arguing that guaranteeing cashback in return for firms' old IT kit is not a sustainable business model. The story in full can be viewed here.

PRM directors Paul Mullet and Tim Hawkins claimed that Godfrey's open letter – which can be viewed at the bottom of this story – was "clumsy and misinformed". They went on to address a number of "glaring mistruths" regarding their business, which we have published in full below.

1) "PRM's services are not free"

Yes they are. Simple. We have never charged any service user for any part of the service we have provided. The implication is that we have "hoodwinked" these users into giving us equipment free of charge without telling them they are worth something. We have not. All our users are fully aware of how we model our business, and that we derive our fees to cover our costs and profit from the residual value of all the assets we process.

2) "Most IT recycling companies return money for the value of material and assets"

Whilst we cannot comment on individual businesses that do so, we can only comment on the information provided to us by our service users; the vast majority of whom state that when they do use these particular services, they still end up having to pay anyway. The returned value is often less than the cost of the service provision.

3) "PRM do not have accreditation"

Incorrect. We have completed our accreditation for ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 and are in the middle of our ISO 27001 accreditation. We do make reference to CRB checking. We also check all staff using Disclosure Scotland services as well. All our staff members are vetted to BS7858 standards. We are paying for controls these standards require. A statement which reads "they are taking risks" is also defamatory and wrong.

4) "PRM say they use (CESG) standard for data wiping, but are not accredited."

We have never claimed to be accredited by CESG, but the tools we use are. This is the assurance our service users have asked for, and we provide. We do not claim to handle data that is protectively marked, restricted, secret or top secret. We offer the ability and every service user's requirements are assessed and met according to their needs. We do not crush disks. They are shredded.

5) "They are a broker of waste"

We do hold a waste Carrier / Broker / Dealer licence. We are also an ATF, but this fact was obviously missed! So we are licensed to process the equipment we receive.

6) "They claim to use seven collection warehouses which should be registered for waste transfer"

Incorrect. We used to have seven warehouses, which were all on one site, and linked together. Oh. And licensed! We now have one large, secure facility.

7) "They don't show their Waste Carrier's Licence either"

Another falsehood. This is clearly shown on all advertising, paperwork and our website, as well as being publicised on the EA website, on the Public Register.

8) "I have witnessed data from NHS hospitals being traded in Nigeria"

We would hope that this in no way refers to anything we have done, as we have never been involved in any such activity. We have also witnessed NHS systems, which have been sold to a past client of ours, which were collected, processed and sold to the client, by a large, household-name recycling company, which all had complete data on them and had not been wiped whatsoever. Due to the nature of our business model, this would not be in our interest whatsoever, as we wouldn't get paid and would be losing the residual value from these items.

9) "I believe that the only way PRM can provide the service free is that they don't have the costs associated with the required standards"

This is clearly wrong as we have already asserted. Our service is free because of the way our business model operates. We have never charged for our service. Surely it is up to us to decide what business model we choose to adopt? It is part of the risk of entrepreneurial endeavour that a certain amount of speculation is required to ensure a healthy return. This is the model we have adopted.

Finally, as a company that has only been operating for four years, and which started with just two people, we are rightly proud of our achievements as a commercial body by growing our business to such an extent that we now employ 30 staff, many of whom have been recruited from disadvantaged sections of society. We are also proud of the significant cost savings our service users enjoy, which also ensures they continue to use an excellent service which grows stronger every day due to an extraordinary customer retention rate of 94 per cent. We ensure we conform to all relevant legislation required. We strive to work harder and provide better safeguards than our competitors, as well better physical security.