Reduce, reuse, recycle. Every year 1 million tonnes of electronic equipment is thrown out, of this only 1/4 is genuinely unusable. By reusing equipment we can double the life and half the carbon footprint of a computer.
Making one computer consumes 240kg of fossil fuels, 22 kg of chemicals and 1.5 tonnes of water, what we do with this is important for three main reasons:
• Reuse is 20 times more energy efficient than recycling.
• If not properly dealt with the 22kg of chemical could end up in landfill which would lead to pollution of the soil or even water
• Recyclable waste is a valuable resource and once it is locked in the ground it cannot be retrieved.
Where we cannot use the equipment donated it is recycled at a certified WEEE recycler. We comply with all relevant legislation the WEEE directive, Data Protection Act and Environment Act. At the end of their working life all computers we send to Africa are stripped down into their basic components and materials recycled to make new products.
