Abans launches environmentally sustainable e-waste recovery initiative

• Ties up with the environmental service providing sister company Cleantech 

Abans Group of Companies has launched a total e-waste recovery initiative for all trade-in items. Abans PLC, the lead retailer for electronics and home appliances in Sri Lanka, joined with Cleantech Ltd., the environmental solutions sister company of the Group, for the initiative. 

Through the initiative, Abans Group ensures that the items handed over by customers under the trade-in scheme, get disposed of in an environmentally sustainable manner. The end-to-end solution is provided, ensuring the environment is kept safe. 

Electronic waste or e-waste is now one of the most critical environmental issues, especially in Sri Lanka. With this increase of discarded e-waste that includes; mobile phones, computers and home appliances like toasters, mixer blenders, etc., there is a rising threat of several health and environmental risks. 

The risks include the pollution of water and soil, the release of toxic fumes into the air, and health issues to the population. Correct discarding of the e-waste can prevent this environmental menace. 

Abans Group became a household brand due to the strength that is the electronics and home appliance retail business. Through the island wide showroom network of over 400 outlets, Abans has been providing the latest and best in class electronics and home appliances to the Sri Lankan market. Via the trade-in scheme, many customers hand over their used electronics and purchase new ones. 

Cleantech Ltd. is Sri Lanka’s pioneering environmental solutions company, under Abans Group of Companies. The Abans Group, since inception, has been driven by their commitment to empower people with a better way to life and in this journey, the safeguarding of the environment is of special interest. 

Cleantech is tackling the e-waste concern by offering solutions that have sparked an e-waste revolution. The e-waste is sent to Cleantech’s pre-processing facility for treatment, where the electronics are deconstructed to segregate plastics and metals. 

The relevant components are then exported to Japan and Belgium for further recycling, and precious and rare earth metal extraction. Furthermore, the company ensures that private information on the devices like mobile phones and PCs are physically destroyed to protect their customers’ security and privacy, and they issue a company destruction certificate on request. 

Sustainability initiatives such as these, are not new to the Group. In 2018, ‘The Green Isle Project’ came to be, led by the Group, in partnership with LG, the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) and Department of Wildlife Conservation. 

Through the 5-year project, the Attidiya wetland will be rejuvenated through habitat enrichment, via a massive tree replanting scheme conducted under scientific guidance and aimed at the gradual replacement of invasive plant species, the revitalization of small canals, as well as the clearance of weeds and other debris.   

Abans, with a simple vision, “To keep enhancing the tomorrow, by empowering people with a better way to life”, has continued to do so for the past 50 years. Be it through the vast product ranges and the services offered, to the employment opportunities and the CSR initiatives, Abans Group is committed to empowering people to be more than they were before. Abans has proven time and time again, their well-deserved status as a cultural icon and a beloved household name in Sri Lanka.