Graduate Philip Bénard unveils Electrobac 2.0!

April 17, 2014

Electrobac, a young Montreal company founded by graduate Philip Bénard (BBA 2011), now provides residents of the Greater Montreal area with a new option in e-waste recycling: a network of smart recycling bins.

Over the next few weeks, Electrobac will roll out a hundred recycling bins equipped with a unique machine to machine (M2M) technology with which the company can remotely calculate the quantity of electronic equipment placed in each bin. Developed by Electrobac and powered by Bell on the largest high-speed wireless network in Canada, this technology uses a dynamic Web platform that allows for analysis to maximize efficient management.

“Such an innovation greatly enhances our operations while reducing our travel and greenhouse gas emissions,” explains Philip Bénard.

The new Electrobac smart recycling bins will be installed in busy locations such as university facilities, supermarkets, office towers, and shopping centres. To that end, Electrobac obtained the support of major partners like real estate company Ivanhoé Cambridge to set up bins in several of its properties. HEC Montréal, which welcomed Electrobac’s first prototype in November 2011, will receive the new smart recycling bins in the fall of 2014.

Electrobac is dedicated to reducing the quantity of e-waste in landfills. All the equipment collected is shipped to certified Canadian recycling facilities audited by the Recycler Qualification Office (RQO). These facilities recycle end-of-life electronics and repair and remove data from functional equipments for a second use. Electrobac’s bins are also recognized as official collection points of EPRA-Québec, an organization mandated by Recyc-Québec to coordinate the management of end-of-life electronic materials in Québec.