Kirk Office officials have expressed disappointment over the illegal dumping of office equipment recently discovered in George Town, saying that a free recycling facility is open to customers seeking to replace old machines.
Geoff Cuff, Kirk Office managing director, in an emailed comment to the Cayman Compass on Tuesday, said the company has been in contact with the Department of Environmental Health which is investigating the incident.
“It’s disappointing to learn that this happened even though we offer free recycling for every piece of equipment that we sell as well as free recycling of spent toner cartridges both at our retail store and by our drivers at our corporate clients’ sites,” Cuff said.
DEH Director Richard Simms told the Compass Tuesday via email that an investigation into the illegal dumping incident has been launched.
“Our Environmental Health Officers are working assiduously to identify the perpetrators. We also confirmed that we are working with one of the major office suppliers on the island to narrow the search for the offenders. Littering and illegal dumping are criminal offenses and we are exercising zero tolerance to this type of behavior,” Simms said.
Cuff’s comments follow a Compass article Monday in which George Town North MP Joey Hew flagged the indiscriminate dumping of the old office equipment off the Esterley Tibbetts Highway along a dyke road.
A member of the public also reported the incident to the Compass and provided photos to assist in tracking down the offenders.
The equipment also bore Kirk Office tags.
Cuff encouraged the community to make use of the company’s facility for equipment recycling.
“We offer to collect end-of-life machines purchased from Kirk Office to be recycled responsibly off island, thereby diverting it from the landfill entirely. The company that we use recycles equipment via a certified R2v3 facility in the US. This not only addresses environmental concerns, but also data protection,” he explained.
In addition to this, Cuff said a drop-off bin for spent toner is available in the Kirk Office retail store.
“Our corporate customers have the option to set aside spent toner cartridges which our drivers will collect and bring back for processing,” he added.
Due to this incident, Cuff said the company will be proactively engaging with its customers over the coming days to remind them of the options they have for recycling electronic waste with Kirk Office.
According to its website, more than 500 pieces of equipment have already been recycled by the local company.
“We ensure that electronic waste is handled and recycled safely,” it says on the website, adding that when a new copier or other piece of office equipment is installed, Kirk Office offers to take the old one away and recycle it in a responsible manner.
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