ReBoot recycling social enterprise celebrates 25 years of service to the community
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A recycling company based on the Greshop Industrial Estate has celebrated 25 years of service to the community - and the planet!
ReBOOT was conceived in 1997 as part of a Moray Council/Moray Voluntary Service Organisation project in response to the EU Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive.
Despite a difficult last year, manager Lee McGrath - who started at ReBOOT in 2005 - celebrated with his colleagues.
He said: “We all got together for a barbecue,playing retro games and pool, enjoying music, cake ... and the occasional beverage!”
ReBOOT was originally a voluntary project based in a shed near Dyke then, in 2004, it became an independent company with charitable status, mainly supported by grant funding.
Lee said: “The founders went on to employ a full-time manager and part-time administrator. Our social enterprise now employs six members of staff coordinating more than 35 volunteers, as well as learners from local schools and colleges.”
ReBOOT (Moray Computer Recycling) set up ReBOOT Trading (Moray) Ltd to handle activities including IT equipment recycling and refurbished computer sales in its sales department. ReBOOT continues to reduce IT waste by refurbishing used equipment. Equipment that cannot be refurbished is disassembled, reduced to base components, then recycled.
Lee said: “We have handled over 2500 tons of IT equipment equating to over 250,000 items since 1997!
“ReBOOT has grown to working on major contracts such as with Fujitsu Services and Highland Council, where we dealt with over 13,000 devices and computer systems, processing them as part of a donation project to students and not-for-profit organisations.”
Lee has plenty of wonderful memories of working with ReBOOT over the years.
He said: “Like the time we all went to Kinloss Golf Course to play a round then back to the clubhouse for food and karaoke. Our then-chairperson at the time, Matt, stunted with his amazing voice! Setting up facilities in Inverness was a memorable and valuable learning point for me. The year we witnessed a tractor and farmer’s plough clearing the roads in the Greshop was fun! And the ‘away day’ we had at the Ramnee Hotel when we met all the people from ReBOOT to learn from each other was wonderful.”
Lee confirmed ReBOOT’s focus for the next 12 months is on sustaining operations and growing its volunteer workforce.
He said: “We hope to offer more donated devices to the most vulnerable in Moray, streamline recycling services and reduce our carbon footprint. We will also finalise a new sensory space for our volunteers.”
