I am just about to buy a new computer, any ideas on what I should do with my old one I have also got an old mobile phone that I don t need anymore, any ideas

Asks Margie

A. Don't chuck out your old computer or mobile phone (or indeed any old office equipment), you can usually have it recycled and used by someone else. There are several schemes now that revamp old equipment and use them for charities, schools, local community, hospitals etc.

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Q. Can you give me more information on recycling electronic equipment

A. There are several online projects that will recycle and hand on your equipment at no cost or hassle to yourself. Some of the best are as follows:

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Waste Watch

This is a great website, as it not only tells you how to get rid of your old equipment through recycling it also has extensive information on the environmental implications of throwing away electronic equipment; it details current legislation about recycling; and gives details on government, industry and community initiatives.

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This site also provides comprehensive information on WEEE - waste electrical and electronic equipment�- and how to manage it. It estimates that a staggering 1 million tonnes of WEEE is discarded by households and businesses in the UK each year. The main component of this, 43%, is made up by white goods (large household appliances like fridges); IT equipment accounts for 39% of this, primarily computers, followed by TV sets (an estimated 2 million TV sets are dumped every year in the UK).

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The Waste Watch site also includes a great guide for consumers, detailing what we can do to stop the rapid increase of electronic waste. It includes the following tips:

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(a) When buying new equipment, consider whether it can be upgraded rather than being completely replaced.

(b) If an appliance has stopped working, try to get it repaired instead of replacing it.

(c) Take all electronic waste to a civic amenity where it is automatically recycled, instead of throwing it in the bin.

(d) Contact your local council to find out about any local schemes where electronic equipment can be used by low-income households, or donated to schools, community projects etc. If you don't have any joy here, contact the ICER (Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling) for advice. They can be contacted online at www.icer.org.uk or by more traditional methods at: 6 Bath Place, Rivington Street London EC2A 3JE. Tel: 020 7729 4766

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Computer Aid

Computer Aid International recycles unwanted computers from Britain for use in schools and community organisations in developing countries. It believes that instead of wastefully burying computers in the British countryside, they can be reused in countries that urgently need them, and cannot afford to buy them commercially.

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In order to donate as much money as possible Computer Aid keeps its administrative costs to a minimum to ensure that any donation it receives is translated into more recycled computers. In order to do this it cannot employ any overseas staff, but instead works in unison with existing development organisations who already have these facilities and use their local knowledge to ensure that the computers get to those who most need them.

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Currently it works with the following charities: VSO, Kingfisher Trust, Coda International, United Nations Association for International Service, Skillshare Africa, Survival International, Community HEART, Peace Child International, International Co-operation for Development, UNISON , Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, and SOS Children's Villages (UK). So far, Computer Aid has sent more than 4,500 fully working Windows computers to 31 different countries in the developing world.

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Eurosource Europe

This organisation helps charities raise money through recycling mobile phones and printer cartridges. It also runs school recycling projects.

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Mobilephones4charity.com

This company recycles old mobile phones (only phones that use a SIM card), and the battery and charger if you have it. They take the old equipment off your hands and donate an agreed amount of money to your chosen charity.

As mobile phones and their batteries are environmentally hazardous if they are just thrown away, this organisation takes away the responsibility of disposing of them. All donated phones should be free of any contractual agreement.

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Once you have donated your phone Mobilephones4charity.com will then decide what to do with it. They have a number of options: if it is fully operational it can be sold outside of Western Europe without any additional work, so they sell it on and donate a high proportion of any money received through sales to charity. They also repair broken phones (then sell them on), strip the phone and reuse the parts or scrap the bits that cannot be reused. It is surprising how much of an old phone can be used again, Mobilephones4charity.com recycles antennas, battery connectors, boards, connectors, ICs, keyboards, LCD screens, lens, microphones, phone housing units, screws, SIM card assemblies and speakers.

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Printer Cartridge Recycling - does exactly what it says, and recycles printer cartridges, at no extra cost to you. All funds raised are donated to the North East Charities Fund.

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Tools for Schools

Refurbishes surplus commercial computers and gives them a new lease of life in schools.

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EMC

Is an organisation that adapts mobile phones for reuse or recycling.

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Oxfam

Oxfam has a Mobile Phone Bring Bring Scheme that allows you to donate your old mobile phone to charity.

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ByteAid

ByteAid is a PC recycling scheme and is created, sponsored and managed by Advanced Systems and Support Group Ltd. It collects old computers (and other office equipment) from businesses reformats the hard disk, refurbishes the unit and installs it at a chosen organisation e.g. community project, school etc., bug-free, virus-free and securely cleared of any business files - and it does not charge anything to the businesses concerned.

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Computers for Charity

Computers for Charity is a non-profit making organisation which recycles computer systems donated by industry.

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Q. What happens to electronic equipment that is not recycled

A. It is usually disposed of in landfill sites or incinerated. This can have a lot of environmental implications. According to Waste Watch, lots of our natural resources are lost in landfill or through incineration e.g. ferrous metals and glass. Cathode ray tubes contain many minerals in addition to glass, including zinc, lead, cadmium and phosphor, while circuit boards contain about 25 distinct substances.

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The production of these raw materials and the goods made from them entails environmental damage through mining, transport and energy use. The other major problem is the toxic nature of many of the substances, these include arsenic, bromine, cadmium, halogenated flame retardant, HCFCs, lead, mercury and PCBs. Finding suitable landfill sites is also becoming an increasing problem.

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Q. How is electronic equipment actually recycled

A. It depends on the actual equipment and the components it contains, but generally there are four methods of recycling and recovering materials for reuse:

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(a) equipment dismantling: the manual separation of reusable and recyclable components.

(b) mechanical recycling: the removal of hazardous components followed by granulating and shredding in order to remove the recyclable raw materials such as plastic and ferrous metal.

(c) incineration and refining: metal can be recovered after the more combustible material has been incinerated.

(d) chemical recycling: precious metals such as gold and silver can be removed from printed circuit boards and components via chemical processes.

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By Karen Anderson