Our perception of
Brazil is so often focused on design, farming, rain forests, and soccer that it is easy to forget that Brazil is a leader in
energy,
technology, aircraft manufacturing, and yes, even ATM assembly. One Brazilian manufacturer based in Sao Paulo, Itautec, employs 6,000 people in Brazil and abroad and exceeds over US$1 billion in annual revenues.
Itautec has aggressively recycled
e-waste since 2003, and is stepping up its
recycling and
waste diversion efforts even more:
- Last year Itautec recycled over 3800 tons of obsolete electronics.
- Itautec has invested nearly $6.5 million since 2033 in its environmental management system in which its employees around the world participate.
- Itautec has made over 2,000 component changes to its ATMs with the result that its machines now use 40 percent less energy.
“The volume recycled equals about 140,000 desktops and more than 5,600 ATMs, said Joao Carlos Redondo, Manager of Sustainability at Itautec. “The goal is to keep raw materials out of landfills, and we’re getting better at recycling old electronics equipment."
Learn more about Itautec’s sustainability efforts on its English
site or in more depth,
here (in Portuguese).
Workers recycling old electronics at an Itautec facility.
