On 01 July 2007, a new Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) was introduced to minimise the impact of electrical and electronic goods on the environment, by increasing re-use and recycling and reducing the amount of WEEE going to landfill.

The WEEE regulations encourage the re-use of equipment over recycling, so by donating your IT equipment to ITSA you are prioritising re-use, complying with the directive, helping to preserve the environment and creating positive lives in Africa: a single refurbished computer from ITSA can provide 25 students in Africa with access to IT education.

If the equipment for disposal was purchased after 13th August 2005 or replaced on a like for like basis when buying new equipment, a business can request that either the original producer or the retailer of the new equipment collect it at its end of life. This may make sense for broken or obsolete equipment.

The WEEE directive affects every organisation and business that uses electrical equipment in the workplace. The regulations state that business users are responsible, along with producers, for ensuring their WEEE is correctly treated and reprocessed.

How does the WEEE Directive affect school children in Africa?

Millions of African schoolchildren are currently benefiting from the donation of redundant computers through charities like ITSA.

Companies used to be responsible for disposing of their used computers, so they would call ITSA or another charity and offer to donate them to Africa; this provided them with certificated data erasure and valuable reporting helping them to demonstrate their social and environmental responsibilities. However as a result of the legislation, many companies will give their old computers back to the manufacturer, who will most likely crush and waste them.

Please keep donating your used computers to Africa.

The WEEE Directive does not signal the end to charitable re-use, its up to individual companies and organisations to take personal responsibility. Ask your IT manager what happens to the old computers at your place of work. All companies have to do is call someone like ITSA and arrange to drop off / have collected their redundant PCs, and they will be guaranteed secure data erasure, reduced carbon footprint through reuse of computers, and feedback about their donation. Companies purchasing new PCs might be able to negotiate a discount from suppliers in return for disposing of PCs themselves.

For more information about the WEEE Directive please visit: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment