Recycling initiative at Sharjah Colleges

I was delighted to read your story on the hazards of electronic waste and how it can be safely disposed of. It was auspicious that your article appeared in 7-days on the same day we in Sharjah Colleges (HCT) announced the opening of our PC recycling centre.

I have been teaching a PC hardware course at Sharjah Men's College for the past 4 years and every year we end up with a mish-mash of working/broken PC components which just pile up as unwanted junk in our stores. So this year, we decided that we could maybe patch together enough working components to make a few working PCs which we would donate to local schools or charities.

Our students have been so enthusiastic about the project that I am having to beg them to go home at 8pm at night! At present our efforts have been focused on staff and students within the college and the response has been overwhelming!

To date, we have built 12 working PCs and we will be making our first donation next week. Our students will decide which school/centre is most in need of our help. Students also plan to offer on-site support and training to staff in the various schools.

The project has suited perfectly, not only with our curriculum and the goals of our college ( a technology-training college), but it has also served to make our students more environmentally aware. They are now totally au-fait with the harm caused by incorrect disposal of PC hardware and of the difficulty ordinary people face when they try to dispose of these items themselves.

They are also very conscious now of how lucky they are to be students at a college which is so wonderfully resourced for their use!

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