Photos: Re-use don't recycle, says Computer Aid

Zambian high commissioner, His Excellency Anderson Chibwa, was on hand to help Computer Aid chief executive Tony Roberts load up the 90,000th refurbished PC for its journey to Africa. The machine was part of a 225 PC consignment bound for Zambia, where the charity claims it will be distributed by the national Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (Teveta) to a needy college.

Following the long-awaited enforcement of the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive into UK law on 2 July, Computer Aid is keen to highlight the message that, while recycling is better than dumping into landfill, re-use is the best option for old technology, when possible.

"Re-use — don't recycle," said Roberts. "United Nations University research has proven empirically that re-use is far more environmentally friendly then simply recycling. Producing and using PCs has significant environmental costs. Seventy-five percent of the fossil fuel use associated with PC use is expended in the manufacture process before it is used for the very first time. Given this high environmental cost of production, it is essential that we then use every PC to the full extent of its productive life, rather then simply scrapping or recycling equipment after a just a few years."

Old CRT monitors (pictured) are a good example of Computer Aid's approach to making the best use of old tech. An organisation the charity works with in Africa, Computers for Schools Kenya, turns unwanted monitors into cheap TVs for the local population.

If you're interested in helping Computer Aid, the charity is inviting IT professionals to participate in its second annual cycle challenge and help bridge the digital divide. The event aims to raise enough money to provide at least 1,000 PCs to schools across the developing world, which the charity claims would otherwise have no way of obtaining IT equipment.

To sign up or find out more, visit the official site or, for an information pack, send a blank email with the subject line "info pack" to cuba@computeraid.org or call Stephen Campbell on 020 8361 5540.