Birmingham City Council has said “mountains” of old IT equipment has been recycled or reused in an environmentally-friendly initiative.
Under the venture launched in May 2008, Birmingham residents can have their old IT equipment collected at their door and taken away to be reused or recycled. Businesses can also benefit as the private contractor involved, Secure IT Disposals Ltd, offers data destruction to central government standards.
The IT equipment collected is sorted into useable or un-useable. Whilst the un-useable is recycled, the useable IT is donated to local charities or community groups. A large majority of the donated IT equipment is used to educate those in disadvantaged areas to give them IT skills and make them more employable.
The initiative is run by the council, Digital Birmingham and Secure IT Disposals Ltd.
“‘End of life’ solutions for IT equipment are a pressing problem,” said councillor Paul Tilsley, Birmingham City Council’s deputy leader, who heads up the Digital Birmingham partnership.
“Research last year showed that only 20 per cent of the six million items of electronic equipment thrown away annually are recycled. This initiative with Secure IT makes us one of the leading UK authorities to address the issue of IT waste, and it’s heartening to see that it’s been so enthusiastically taken up by businesses and residents.”
