By Tim Ferguson, 21 April 2008 17:00
NEWS
Brent Council in London has hit on a way to comply with the European WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive for the responsible disposal of computer hardware, while also helping parts of the world in need of a tech boost.
The council has been giving its old computers and equipment to Computer Aid International which distributes them to schools and hospitals in Africa.
Green IT from A to Z
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A is for Abroad
B is for Blades
C is for Carbon footprint
D is for Data centres
E is for Energy sources
F is for Freecycle
G is for Government
H is for Homeworking
I is for Ice caps
J is for Jobs (Steve)
K is for Kilowatts
L is for Landfill
M is for Mercury
N is for Nanogeneration
O is for Offsetting
P is for Paperless office
Q is for Queen
R is for Recycling
S is for SmartPlanet.com
T is for Travel
U is for Upgrade
V is for Virtualisation
W is for WEEE
X is for Xmas
Y is for You
Z is for Zero emissions
So far, the council has donated more than 500 PCs, laptops and monitors which Computer Aid International arranges to be wiped of all data free of charge before shipping them to Africa.
The move boosts the council's corporate social responsibility programme while also helps dispose of equipment in accordance with the European WEEE directive - which came into force in July last year.
Duncan McLeod, director of finance at Brent Council, said reusing IT equipment rather than recycling was the main reason for working with Computer Aid International because of the huge difference it makes in developing countries.
Brent council is also able to follow where its IT equipment ends up. So far, its equipment has gone to Ghana's National Health Students Association and the Crescent Future Kids organisation in Zambia, which helps give young people the skills to contribute to their nation's economy.
McLeod added that being able to track where the equipment ends up allows the council to let its staff know about the good work its doing.
Louise Richards, CEO of Computer Aid International, said the support of donors such as Brent Council is vital in fulfilling the United Nations millennium development goals to reach marginalised groups and reduce poverty.
Comments
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1. anonymous
But how is it disposed of at the end of it's life in Africa?
Have we not just exported the problem?
2. anonymous
I can't believe it is cost-effective and environmentally sustainable to be refurbing, wiping data down and shipping old not-fit for purpose computers and monitors to Africa, as opposed to supplying new Asus ePCs or similar.
Smells like offloading lawful responsibility for recycling and associated costs elsewhere.
When they are of no use in Africa, will they be disposed of properly, or just lobbed into the Sahara desert. Does Ghana even have a safe electrical dismantling and recycling plant?
3. anonymous
This isn't about dumping e-waste in countries, it's about providing essential IT equipment to help these countries join the digital economy and make the most of the technological advantages we take for granted here.
I'm sure the PCs are still in good working order when shipped out - it says on the website that they only accept equipment of a certain standard, and surely this is why the charity puts time, money and other resources into refurbishing them?
If Ghana (for example) doesn't already have a recycling plant, then they should because they'd be using electrical equipment anyway, regardless of whether Computer Aid was providing it or not.