The disposal of surplus electrical equipment is now subject to the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive 2002/96/EC and 2003/108/EC. Click here for more information about WEEE.

This requirement covers the disposal of computer equipment, such as computers, monitors, keyboards and printers but also covers other electrical and electronic devices as diverse as projectors, tape recorders and kettles.

Schools should recognise that any work that has been stored on a computer system may still be retrievable from its hard disk (even if it is deleted or the disk is reformatted) and so it could be accessed by malicious individuals. It is therefore very important that schools take all appropriate measures when disposing of ICT equipment. You will be aware of the issues raised by the national press recently when government departments "lost" information in transit. It is inevitable that more regulation will be forthcoming regarding the transmission and security of computer data.

Sandwell Council has approved Secure I.T. Disposals Ltd for the secure disposal and recycling of redundant computer equipment: Contact: 0121 643 2996 or www.sitd.co.uk. Example pricing is as follows:

Alternatively, www.envirofriendly computers Ltd (http://www.green-computer-services.co.uk/) offer WEEE services.

They estimate £9.50 for the disposal of a computer system, which is equivalent to the price above. Contact Envirofriendly on 01952 580814 for more information.