Stone Group's Story
Established in 1991, Stone is a leading provider of circular IT Solutions to education, UK public sector and private sector organisations of all sizes. Our mission is to improve the education, health and quality of life of the people in the UK through technology services. Stone Group are also working towards a more sustainable future with their IT Asset Disposal, on-site recycling facility and the multi-award-winning Stone 360 app that simplifies IT recycling.
With figures rising every year, e-waste is one of the fasting growing waste streams in the world – and it's harming our planet. E-waste contains toxic and hazardous substances that can have serious, negative impacts on human health and the environment when not disposed of in a suitable manner. As a circular IT provider, Stone Group is committed to taking responsibility for the items it sells by taking redundant IT back and giving them a second life or effectively recycling them.
In 2019 alone, the world collectively generated 53.6 million metric tonnes of e-waste; just 17.4% of this was formally and responsibly collected and recycled. The crisis is increasing too, globally e-waste has increased by 21% within just 5 years. The majority of e-waste that is not disposed of correctly ends up being dumped in some of the world's poorest counties resulting in toxic waste being released into our oceans.
Our award-winning IT recycling service, which is carried out at our 100,000 square ft facility based at Stone HQ, is simple, secure and effective. Our UK accreditations display our recognition as a responsible 'IT Asset Disposition' provider that you can trust.
In October 2020 we launched our game-changing 360 recycling app to a fanfare of excitement and high expectations. Freely available on Android and Apple stores, using a visual interface, customers are now able to book and manage equipment collections at their convenience.
They can earn recycling points, exchange them for cash rebates, as well as plant trees and help implement sustainability projects in partnership with the National Forest; all of which provides a carbon footprint offset for customers. Customers can also boost the value of their points by 20%, completely free of charge, to purchase new or refurbished tech from Stone. Some customers have even chosen to take their cash rebate and donate it to their chosen charity – creating a win, win situation for everyone.
Stone 360 is an IT recycling app that enables organisations to book and manage collections of their broken, old, or redundant IT at their convenience. Unwanted hardware such as old desktops, monitors, laptops, printers and servers are taken away by Stone Group to its dedicated IT recycling facility in Staffordshire where a team of skilled engineers securely wipe all data and refurbish any items that can be given a second life and recycle any that can't, ensuring zero waste is sent to landfill in the process.
Useful Learnings from Stone Group
Over the last decade, there has been a looming e-waste crisis caused by the irresponsible disposal of redundant IT equipment. At Stone we are determined to help solve the problem. We believe it is time to stop talking, act and stand up to stop the e-waste crisis engulfing the planet.
According to studies by Lancaster University and the Anthesis Report, the UK generated 500,000 tonnes of unaccounted e-waste in one year, with 23.9 kilograms of e-waste per person annually, the second highest in the world. Furthermore, UK households and businesses create reusable or recyclable e-waste weighing 1.45 million tonnes per annum. Stone Group wanted to create an app that made arranging collections simple.
Our approach simplifies IT lifecycle management and provides cost benefits for our customers, whilst off-setting the environmental impacts with our award-winning IT Asset Disposal service and 360 recycling app, which was launched in October 2020.
They can earn recycling points, exchange them for cash rebates, as well as plant trees and help implement sustainability projects in partnership with the National Forest; all of which provides a carbon footprint offset for customers. Customers can also boost the value of their points by 20%, completely free of charge, to purchase new or refurbished tech from Stone. Some customers have even chosen to take their cash rebate and donate it to their chosen charity – creating a win, win situation for everyone.
Stone Group's Metrics
Number of app downloads (5,510).
Amount in cash rebates (£1,296,191).
How much is added to customer rebate value (£259,238).
Items of unwanted IT collected (336,193).
Number of active app users (2,950,509).
Donations made to support UK-based sustainability projects, equivalent to number of trees planted (1,324).
(As of 2021).
