Recycle a device

A RAD idea for every board

Do you know what happens to your organisation’s pre-loved computers and tablets when they are no longer state-of-the art devices? Not-for-profit Recycle a Device (RAD) can refurbish them and gift them to students who find themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide.

This is a simple example of embedding sustainable business practices into an organisation and walking-the-talk towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. Boards should ensure managers are aware of opportunities like these and utilise them.

“Rather than sending devices to landfill, the simple act of donating e-waste can transform ‘disposal’ into ‘development’ by contributing to local community improvement through tech skills training and providing for gaps in access to tech for young people and families,” says Rebecca Harris, Donor Liaison at RAD.

“At the same time as reducing waste, this process helps students develop their technical engineering skills through their work refurbishing laptops for others.”

The digital divide – the gap between students that have access to computers and the internet, and those who do not – has become more pressing since the onset of the pandemic caused remote schooling to be built in to our education system.

In addition, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies are common as schools prepare kids for a future that is increasingly digital. As a consequence, children who do not have access to a laptop or tablet can quickly become out of touch with their schoolwork and class participation.

RAD grew out of a student-led initiative at Aotea College in Porirua, where tech-savvy students were refurbishing laptops to make sure their peers had devices to use during the first Covid-19 lockdown

“We knew this model could be expanded to help even more people,” says Harris.

“There are plenty of rangatahi out there who are ready to help, and other community members who need the opportunities that access to the internet – and therefore to modern education – can provide. We have an ambitious goal of distributing 17,000 laptops by 2024.”

On a school board?

Schools can establish and run their own computer refurbishment programmes through Recycle a Device. RAD offers a one-day training workshop to teach students and teachers, getting them started on building their own ongoing refurbishment group, and will cover the costs of spare parts and follow up support.

Schools that refurbish RAD devices are able to distribute up to half of these newly fit-for-purpose devices to their students or community, with the other half donated to community groups nationwide. RAD partners with Spark Foundation and Skinny Jump to help students get connected to the internet so they can fully participate in the digital world.

Basic Chromebooks cost upwards of $300. RAD can refurbish and donate a laptop for around $200. They receive funding from a range of trusts and charitable organisations as well as direct donations.

What RAD needs is more ex-corporate laptops to work on.

“Many Kiwi businesses find themselves with outdated or unwanted hardware. Often these are sent to e-recycling when they could instead be diverted and repurposed as assets of a different kind. With programmes like RAD, it can be easier to see how reframing your approach to waste can almost instantly conjure value from refuse and provide benefit on multiple levels,” Harris says. 

“The programme meets seven of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, builds resilient communities, educates and provides more options for someone to self-determine their way through life. All with a simple change to an organisation's end-of-life procurement policy.”

RAD has collection hubs in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown.  Find out more at www.recycleadevice.nz or email rebecca@recycleadevice.nz