Digital Wings re-purposes electronics from corporates and smaller businesses around New Zealand to community groups and charities.
In 2019, the organisation diverted 187.3 tonnes of e-waste destined for landfill back into the community as working computers.
The organisation acts as a bridge between the corporate world and community groups, Digital Wings programme director Di Daniels says.
My main role is to encourage corporates, the public and the private sector to donate all their computer equipment every time they upgrade their staff computers, printers, cell phones, anything like that, and donate through Digital Wings.”
Digital Wings NZ diverted 187.3 tonnes of e-waste from New Zealand's landfills last year by repurposing computers for the community. Photo: supplied
Digital Wings has forged a relationship with an electronic recycling company Remarkit Solutions to help in the process, she says.
“They retain some of the high end stock to cover the cost of disposing of the low end and rubbish. And I get to take 30 percent of that high-end stock to donate to community organisations and charities around the country,” Daniels says.
She classifies waste as the “good, the bad and the ugly.”
“The good is i5 and above so high-end laptops and desktops.
“The ones that are capable of running the sort of software that you and I and most people need to be run like MYOB and Office”
Computers of this age also still carry warranty, she says.
“If there's any hardware issue in the first 12 months, we replace the machine no questions asked.”
Most corporates upgrade their equipment every two or three years, she says.
“Usually when they buy in a stock of new computer equipment, it has a two or a three-year warranty on it.
And after that it gets written off their asset register.
“So, it's actually a cost neutral option for them to repurpose that and to realise their own corporate social responsibility goals.”
This makes it cost neutral for the donor.
“As long as they give us the good, the bad as well as the ugly.”
There is also a benefit to the recycler, she says.
“Because disposing of the waste which isn't useful is highly labour intensive. And there’s not a lot of margin in that.
“What a lot of so called recyclers do is cream off the top that can be used and dump the rest.”
Remarkit Solutions is committed to keeping 98 percent of everything out of the landfill, she says.
And we create a lot of waste each year, Daniels says.
“It works out at about 20 kilos per person.”
Donors can contact directly through the Digital Wings website.
