CASE STUDY: Bridging the Digital Divide by recycling IT

Bridging the Digital Divide by recycling IT

Recycle-IT! is a Bolton-based social enterprise on a mission to get refurbished computers back into the community to help those living in digital poverty.

Recycle-IT! take old computers and laptops and other electronic waste (e-waste) that businesses no longer need to be processed at their workshop to be wiped and refurbished to a professional level before being donated back into the community.

Since starting trade in mid-2021, Recycle-IT! have refurbished 78 items - from laptops, base units and screens to mobile phones, tablets, and routers (including leads keyboards and peripherals), and in just a few short weeks, they have successfully diverted 325kg of equipment away from toxic waste sites.

What service users say

Hayley Hulme, Managing Director of Starts with you, says: “Working with businesses from and for the community in Bolton and who are committed to making a Positive Change is really important to us". We are delighted to have found Recycle-IT! to make sure our old equipment can be responsibly recycled in the communities that need it. We know our data is safely and professionally removed before it’s reused in the community."

What’s next?

Recycle-IT! recently received £11,000 funding, which has enabled them to begin building a core team of staff and volunteers. The funding will also enable Recycle-IT to continue helping to address digital poverty and exclusion, with ambitions to recycle 10,000 computer units and divert 20 tonnes of e-waste from landfill.

Find out more about RecycleIT! (External link opens in new window)