Sims help raise £5k with charity laptop reuse scheme

IT waste management firm helps Ordnance Survey reuse old laptops and raise funds for cancer charity

Ordnance Survey has donated part of the proceeds from a recent laptop reuse scheme involving Sims Lifecycle Services to the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity.

The IT waste management firm refurbished more than 450 laptops that had been earmarked for disposal by Ordnance Survey's head office in Southampton.

The mapping agency's staff were then offered the chance to buy back the PCs and £15 from each unit sold was donated to charity, generating £5,000.

Lorraine Roberts, client director at Sims, said Microsoft Authorised Refurbisher licenses were also installed on every laptop the firm processed.

"Reuse lies at the very heart of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, which aims to maximise the lifecycle of electrical equipment by reducing the need to manufacture new [products]," said Roberts.

"It is fantastic that we are protecting the environment by maximising the lifecycle of this equipment while raising money for charity."

Elaine Owen, corporate responsibility manager at Ordnance Survey, said: "It is great that the redundant laptops are being reused and recycled rather than destroyed."