The International Computer Company (ICC), Saudi Arabia's leading company, specialized in the distribution of IT solutions and communications, has announced a partnership and cooperation agreement with global EXITCOM company, specialized in the manufacture of recycling electronic and electrical products, to establish EXITCOM KSA company which will be the first Arab company working in the field of recycling electronic and electrical products. The agreement was signed during the international conference for the recycling of electrical and electronic products (IERC), which was held in Austria in January 2012, with ICC the only Arab participant. Dr. Basheer Aljabri, chairman of ICC, said “the company enters this field due to it's awareness about the importance of this vital sector and the extent of its negative effects on the environment and humans in the long run. In the company's continues efforts to ensure environmental compliance, it held a series of strategic partnerships with EXITCOM and other manufacturers of modern technological products that have a proven track record of success in the field of environmental conservation. The company also seeks to proactively raise awareness about these environmental concerns, and encourage other companies to join the green movement concerned to preserve the environment.” Engineer Akram Elyas, Vice President of ICC, said “the company is pleased to partner and cooperate with a leading company such as global EXITCOM in the field of recycling electrical and electronic products in Saudi Arabia”. He pointed out that Saudi Arabia is lagging far from their counterparts from developed countries, in the field of recycling industry for products and wastes. The Kingdom suffers, like the rest of the Arabian Gulf countries, from the high volume of e-waste, because of the overwhelming use of electronic gadgets, especially mobile phone and computers, where statistics estimated that the Kingdom produces approximately 3 million tons per year of e-waste. Elyas further said “the volume of e-waste generated by mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices, could rise by 500 percent over the next decade in some countries, which highlights the urgent need to create awareness about environmental practices in the region.” He added that the e-waste is one of the largest sources of increased waste in the world, and is experiencing a rapid increase at a rate three times higher than any other type of waste and a cause for concern as one of the most dangerous forms of waste, mentioning that only 5 percent of the total e-waste in the Middle East recycled. He stressed that “these articles of e-waste must be treated very carefully, because they contain very toxic elements, and may resulting in some gases and vapors that may kill people. Electrical and electronic wastes contain more than 40 elements, the most serious of mercury, chromium, lead, and if melted these parts will turn into oxides, and are inhaled directly and lead to the contamination of the surrounding environment and interference in the food group through leakage into the soil, most of these oxides are highly toxic and carcinogenic and should be treated very carefully and not melted at random and deposited in places licensed and specific. Mourad Alger, chief executive of global (EXITCOM), stressed that the international computer company (ICC) will play a major role in this partnership because of its excellent reputation and possession of a wide range of distribution network covering all parts of the Kingdom. Mourad added that “e-waste includes all tools and necessary equipment that we use in our daily life, like the computer and accessories equipments (printers, cameras, players, sound, screen) and wired and wireless communication devices (mobiles, phones) and TVs, monitors, audio equipments, video players, cameras, and home appliances such as refrigerators, microwaves, batteries, chargers and adapters. ICC has played a leading role in promoting the culture of computers and information technology in the Kingdom since its founding, having contributed to the resettlement of some of the vocabulary of technology through its manufacturing branches, and in providing integrated solutions and servers, as well as in the field of technical support, it has also played an important role in the National Initiative for Computer in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and information Technology.
