The EU is good for SMEs

The EU is good for SMEs

There is a perception that the EU is far removed from the day to day issues that face Small and Medium Sized enterprises (SMEs), especially here at the periphery in Ireland.

The reality is quite different as the EU “Single Market” with free movement of Goods, Services, People and Finance, first introduced WITH THE Single European Act of 1987 and effectively finalised by Maastricht Treaty of 1993, has opened up huge opportunities for companies to do business anywhere in the 27 EU Countries.

To mange a single market and maintain a level playing field across the EU does require an amount of regulation and this can sometimes seem daunting to smaller companies. The European Commission has recognised this and in order to bring the advantages of the EU single market to SMEs across Europe, the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) has been developed. The EEN facilitates access to all EU SME support programmes by providing assistance and advice at a local level. The EEN is organised in Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and local Chambers of Commerce All other countries can access their local offices through the main EEN website. Although focused on the EU the program has partners worldwide.

Enterprise Network Europe has been a major help to us and the smooth set up of our new project, AGT Technology Ireland Ltd., was a direct result of assistance from the network.
One of the issues facing WEEE recyclers is what to do with waste plastics. About 30% of electronic waste is plastics and about 50% of that plastic is not recyclable because it’s either too mixed or contaminated. While looking for a solution to this problem, we found an Austrian company who have developed a process to convert various organic wastes into high quality energy. We contacted them by email, expressing an interest in looking at their technology. Responding to us they asked if we knew Leon Agnew from Enterprise Ireland, who they knew from the Enterprise Europe Network. We know Leon, having worked with him on a previous project. This was a really useful contact, as normally in a situation like this, a huge amount of time is spent in preliminary meetings, getting to know each other before deciding to consider working together. Leon was able to short circuit this process, confirming our bone fides to the Austrian company and theirs to us. At our first meeting a deal was agreed and AGT Technology Ireland Ltd, was subsequently set up, to develop processing plants to take the unrecyclable plastics from WEEE and convert it to electricity

The Enterprise Europe Network is specifically designed to help SMEs exploit the opportunities presented by the EU single market
· Promoting cross border trade development
· Assisting SMEs in accessing EU funding
· Helping create business partnerships in Europe
· Helping SMEs find the right partner by providing access to a European wide partnering database
· Providing information and advice on EU legislation & policy
· Facilitating IP Licensing and Technology Transfer Agreements
· Supporting companies in developing Research & Innovation capabilities

To exploit the opportunities presented by the EU single market of 493 million inhabitants start at your local Enterprise Europe Network office. In Ireland here, outside Ireland here

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Computers for Irish Schools (CFIS), takes equipment, which is not quite ready for the recycling bin, and prepares it for donation to designated Schools.
http://www.computersforschools.ie/


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Jimmy and Mary Recycle some IT Equipment

“Good afternoon, Electronic Recycling; can I help you?”
“Do you recycle computers”
“ Yes, that’s what we do, what kind of equipment do you have?”
“Just a couple of old office PCs and a printer”
“OK we can handle that, do you want to drop it in or have us collect it?”
“Is there a cost if you collect it?”
“ Yes, there’s a cost either way, if you drop them into us the cost would be €22.50 per computer and Monitor and €7.50 for the printer plus VAT and there’s a minimum collection charge of €45 plus VAT”
“But I thought I could have this recycled free of charge”
“If you are a domestic consumer you can drop it off at your local Civic Amenity site free of charge or if you have replaced the equipment, your supplier should have taken the old equipment from you free of charge. If you are a business and just getting rid of old equipment without replacing it, you are responsible for the correct disposal yourself.
“Ok Thanks”
“You’re welcome and thank you for calling Electronic Recycling”


“ Hey Mary, I checked on the internet and there’s a civic amenity site at Stand Avenue where we can drop those computers off “
“But Jimmy, I thought the girl in Electronic Recycling said you could only use a Civic Amenity site if it was domestic stuff”
“How will they know, we’ll be in the car not the van”
“What’s this we stuff Jimmy, why do you need me to go ?”
“Well, I thought that seeing as we will be close to town, we could go for a pizza or something after we drop the computers off”
“OK, let me put my face on”

“Jeez, what’s with the traffic, it’s backed up as far as I can see, there must be an accident or something, the Civic Amenity site will be closed by the time we get through”
“I was right, it’s closed, let’s park the car and go get something to eat”


“That was a nice couple of hours Mary”
“Yeah, thanks Jimmy, the Pizza was really nice, I love that restaurant and it’s not too expensive, we should go there more often”
“Ah Jayzus Mary will ye look at the car, the windows are smashed, and wouldn’t you know it, the computers are gone, the dishonest, thieving rats”
“I’ll have to report it, let’s go around to Stone Street Garda Station, it’s not far”
“OK Sir, that’s noted for you, if we catch the culprits and recover the computers we’ll let you know”
“Don’t worry about the computers Gard, I was bringing them to the Civic Amenity site to dump them anyway, I just needed to make a report to claim from the insurance”
“Might as well go home Mary, there’s nowhere to get that window fixed over the weekend, I’ll get it done on Monday”


“Well Jimmy, how did it go”
“Don’t talk to me, Mick in the garage quoted me €250 to fix the damage and replace the window. I phoned the insurance and they only cover windscreen breakage and if I claim for the body damage there’s a €250 excess on the Policy. It took all day, so I lost a day’s work for the van as well”
“Ah well Jimmy, at least you got rid of the old computer stuff”
"Yeah, that's true Mary"


“Hello, can I speak to Jimmy McGuire”
“This is Jimmy McGuire”
“Mr McGuire, this is Garda O’Brien from the Serious Crime Division, you reported a car break-in and some computers stolen six weeks ago”
“Yeah, that right”
“Well Mr McGuire, you may need to call your bank, we found your personal information during our investigations into an identity theft gang, and it looks like your banking information has been accessed.


“Good Morning NEI Bank can I help you”
“Yes, can I speak to the manager”
“Can I ask who is calling”
“Yeah, Jimmy McGuire”
“And can I ask what it’s in connection with Mr McGuire?”
“I need to check on my bank accounts”
“OK, hang on, I’ll put you through to accounts, they should be able to help you”
“Hello, Mr McGuire” how can I help you?”
“I just want to check on the balances in my bank accounts”
“Well Mr McGuire, we wrote to you yesterday regarding your accounts. After you withdrew €10,000 from your savings account and €2000 from you current account last week, you now do not have enough money to cover your direct debits and I can see some cheques in the system today, which you don’t have enough funds to cover. Will you be making a lodgement?”
“I’ll have to come back to you”

“Mary, The bank accounts have been cleared out, the scumbags whole stole the computers used the information from the hard drive and took €12,000 from our accounts.
“Jimmy, I know you were trying to save money but you should have brought those computers to Electronic Recycling”
“I know Mary, I know”

Electronic Recycling
Specialists in Computer Recycling and IT Disposal,
Safe, Secure, Compliant Recycling of all types of

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

http://www.electronic-recycling.ie/

Tetra Pak Launches Europe's first ever FSC-Certified milk cartons in Ireland

Following our recent article Moving Milk, Glass Bottles or Recyclable Packaging the case for the carton grows...............


Tetra Pak Ireland has announced the first-ever Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC)-certified carton into the Irish market, in its latest move to ensure its cartons have the strongest environmental story possible.

FSC certification is one of the highest standards of forest certification and requires forests to be managed in a way that protects the environment, society and the long-term economic future of forestry.

Tetra Pak cartons with the new FSC certification label can now be found on Avonmore one-litre milk ranges.

The launch of the certification comes at a time when people across Ireland are still determined to care about the environment, despite the current tough economic times. Three-quarters of people (78%) feel it is important that their milk and juice packaging is made from renewable materials and around 40% of people say they are willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly products.

In support of this, Tetra Pak is running a public awareness campaign - See the Wood for the Trees! It is an educational campaign to help families across Ireland to see the bigger picture, think about the planet and consider the environmental impact of a product across the whole of its life before they buy it. It is about understanding the importance of looking after the planet’s natural resources and how easy it can be for them to ‘do their bit’ by choosing milk and juice in cartons.

Cartons are made from wood - a natural, renewable resource. Tetra Pak works with its suppliers
to ensure that the forests the wood is sourced from are responsibly managed, ensuring that all the paperboard used comes from known, legal and acceptable sources. Tetra Pak already sources 100% of its paperboard in Europe from FSC chain-of-custody certified suppliers in order to demonstrate traceability.

FSC certification is widely recognised as one of the highest standards of independent forest management certification.

Commenting on the campaign, Tetra Pak Ireland’s Environment Manager Richard Hands said - "We are delighted to partner with Glanbia - the owners of Avonmore - to launch Ireland’s first ever FSC-certified cartons in the Irish market. Tetra Pak is committed to ensuring that the materials we use to make cartons can be regrown or re-produced and are sourced from well-managed, sustainable forests.

"I encourage everyone to 'see the wood for the trees' and look at the wider environmental picture when choosing your milk and juice products."
For more information about the campaign - Click Here

To revisit Moving Milk, Glass Bottles or Recyclable Packaging Click here

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ELECTRONIC RECYCLING

Specialists in Computer Recycling and IT Disposal

http://www.electronic-recycling.ie/

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