Leeds families receive laptops through recycling initiative

Families across Leeds are set to benefit from a pioneering project to equip them with recycled laptops.

Laptops deposited at the eight household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) in the city are currently broken up to salvage any reusable components.

But now through an innovative partnership between waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) contractor WEEELink and local community groups, any working laptops will remain intact and be redistributed across the district to ease the pressure on people struggling to cope with home schooling.

Work has already started with two groups at Pudsey Computers and The Hyde Park Book Club who between them have handed out approximately 20 laptops to local households.

As the project is not limited to the immediate vicinity of an individual HWRC, the laptops can be distributed anywhere within Leeds and as the project grows council officers hope more and more community groups will take part and play a vital role in distributing valuable equipment to local families.

Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for environment and active lifestyles, said:

“Some families will be facing an extremely difficult time at the moment in balancing home schooling with their own jobs, often with very limited resources. We hope this new project will relieve some of the pressures faced by Leeds families, particularly those having to home school, by providing them with free technology which would otherwise go to waste.”

Residents can help out by taking any unused devices to their local HWRC and donating them through the high-value WEEE banks on site. All the HWRCs are open but you need to book a slot online before visiting and there are additional rules on site to protect public and staff alike.