gulfnews : Computers refurbished, donated to UAE schools

Dubai: The Dubai municipality's PC Refurbishment Centre Wednesday donated 2,200 refurbished computers to public schools in the country.

Established in 2007 at a cost of Dh1.5 million, the centre has so far collected 90,000 electronic items including personal computers (PC), printers, scanners, laptops and others from donors.

Since its launch, the centre has donated more than 10,000 refurbished PCs and more than 2,000 other refurbished equipment to those in need, both within the country as well as in 20 other, mostly African, countries.

The centre works in close association with the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment to identify those eligible for the donations.

Growing demand

"Refurbishing of PC's helps make the best use of available resources and also contributes to meeting the growing demands," Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality said at a ceremony held at the centre yesterday to handover the refurbished computers.

The computers will be donated to public schools in Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah through the respective educational zones, said Ebrahim Mohammad Bu Melha, deputy chairman of the board of the charity establishment.

Toxic substances

Emphasising the significance of proper disposal of electronic hardware, Hamdan Al Sha'er, director of the environment department at the municipality said: "Computers and its components contain toxic substances including lead, mercury and lithium which can leak if disposed off improperly threatening the environment as well as human health."

He said residents and businesses should consider donating this equipment rather than resorting to selling them for next to nothing or storing them or trashing. It helps the environment by avoiding these from going into landfills. It promotes charity and also supports education."

Rare pieces are put up at a small area within the centre called PC museum while outdated ones are sent for recycling.

Almost 35 steps

The best are refurbished and donated, he added.

The refurbishment process involves almost 35 steps, from formatting the data to installing a new operating system, said Khalid Mousa Idris, Senior Technical Support Officer of the PC Refurbishment Centre.

"There is need for 5000 PC's in these public schools identified by the charity establishment. By next year, we hope to achieve this," he said.

Those who wish to donate may contact the refurbishment centre through their hotline - 800900. More information is available on www.pcrecycle.ae

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