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sustainabletimes
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www.binfo.co.uk
Computer Aid International is calling on UK schools,
colleges and universities to donate used computer
equipment for re-use in schools across Africa and Latin
America when they upgrade their systems over the
summer holidays.
The UK-registered charity is the largest not-for-profit
provider of computers to the developing world. Since 1998, it
has provided more than 200,000 computers and laptops for use
in education, agriculture and health in over 100 countries.
Anja ffrench, Computer Aid director of communications,
said: “The cycle of poverty and disadvantage cannot be broken
unless poor countries have the technology and skills-base
to develop their economies. By donating computers and
monitors to Computer Aid, organisations can make a significant
contribution to poverty reduction by helping children in
developing countries learn valuable IT skills which are essential
to their country’s development.”
Computer Aid provides a full and secure decommissioning
service, so donors can be confident that their equipment is
securely data wiped and compliant withWEEE legislation.
Each PC, monitor and laptop donated to Computer Aid is
asset tracked enabling businesses to see exactly which school,
university or project is benefiting from their unwanted PCs.
Each PC refurbished by Computer Aid will last for a
minimum of 3 years and provide up to 6,000 hours of ICT
access. This will give up to 60 students the opportunity to
achieve a vocational level of IT literacy.
www.computeraid.org
Totalpost is enjoying the fruits of a
£100,000 investment in its franking
cartridge refilling business with a big
increase in the number of cartridges
recycled at its factory in Alston,
Cumbria.
According to compliance manager
Bruce Lenton, Totalpost has already
remanufactured more than 25,000 franker
ink cartridges this year.
“This is likely to be a record year for
the number of cartridges that we recycle
which is great news for Totalpost, for the
environment and for our value-focused
customers,” he said.
“Over the years we have saved
hundreds of thousands of used cartridges
from UK landfill sites, acquiring them from
other providers and through the returns
policy we operate on all of the cartridges
that we distribute. Cartridges pose a real
problem on landfill sites because they are
made up of so many different elements,
including plastic, hard plastic pcb circuit
boards and copper within the print heads.”
More than 95% of the cartridges
recovered by Totalpost are recycled. Used
cartridges go through a cleaning and
testing process to ensure they are fit for
re-use and are then filled with new ink and
sold for less than a new cartridge.
www.totalpost.com
Charity calls for old and
unwanted PCs
Recycling investment pays off for Totalpost
Interface to convert discarded fishing
nets into carpet tiles
greenAgenda…
Carpet tile manufacturer Interface and
the Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
have formed a partnership to tackle
the problem of discarded fishing nets
in some of the world’s poorest coastal
communities.
The Net-Works partnership, which
launches with a six-month pilot on
Danajon Bank in the Philippines, aims
to establish a community-based supply
chain for discarded nets that will improve
the livelihood of local fishermen and
provide Interface with a new source of
recycled material for its carpet tiles.
Fishing nets made from different
types of nylon – often the same
nylon used to make carpet yarn – are
frequently discarded on beaches or in
the sea where they can last for centuries,
continuing to catch or injure marine life
and pollute beaches. In Danajon Bank, it
is estimated that the nets discarded in a
year could cover the length of the Bank
400 times over.
Explaining Interface’s involvement
in the project, chief innovation officer
Nigel Stansfield said: “Our Mission Zero
goal is to eliminate our negative impact
on the Earth by 2020, and phasing out
our reliance on virgin raw materials is a
big part of this. Partnering with ZSL and
other experts, our objective is to convert
‘waste’ from the environment – in this
case, discarded fishing nets – into raw
materials for our own manufacturing.”
He added: “What’s really special is
that at the same time we are aiming
to create livelihood opportunities for
some of the world’s poorest, coastal
communities.”
HP opens Scottish recycling
and renewal centre
HP has opened a vendor-neutral technology recycling and
refurbishment centre in Erskine, Scotland. Owned and
operated by IT leasing subsidiary HP Financial Services,
the new centre will enable HP’s commercial customers
to recycle old equipment at the end of a lease period or
during an upgrade refresh cycle and, where appropriate,
acquire second-hand HP products. The 8,400 square
metre facility significantly expands HP’s global asset
management and recycling capability, which includes
reconditioning, testing and certifying assets back to
original manufacturing standards before resale.
www.hp.com/hpfinancialservices
Equipment being sorted for despatch to Chile
Sustainable
Editor’s Choice Award
Interface