Page 18 - Oundle Life January 2023

IT AMNESTY
Declutter your cupboards
A study by the Royal Society of
Chemistry, undertaken in 2019,
estimated that as many as 40 million unused gadgets are languishing in UK homes, which is leading to an unintended stockpiling of items which could be put to good use, and rare elements which could be recycled into new IT products.
To tackle this issue at a local level, two Oundle teenagers, Ned Sherwin and Joseph Dainter, have linked up with the Oundle Waste Less team and Peterborough-based E-Waste Recycle to run an Oundle IT Amnesty as a part of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Unused mobile phones, laptops, tablets, cables, desktop computers, Wi-Fi routers, modems and gaming consoles, can be brought to The Hub in Fletton House on Glapthorn Road on Saturday 21st January between 10am-1pm from where they will be taken to E-Waste Recycle’s premises, cleaned of any data, and refurbished or recycled.
An official confirmation that data has been erased from the devices can be provided to offer peace of mind to those concerned about data theft. To facilitate this a short form, which can be requested using the email below, must be completed before the items are handed in.
Anyone needing assistance to get treasured photos and useful files off computers and phones take them to the Oundle School Community Action IT Club, which takes place on Wednesday afternoons from 2.25-4pm in
Sci-Tec during term time (please contact the School CA office to attend), or can book in to the next Oundle Repair Café, taking place in Fletton House on Saturday 28th January from 2-5pm. Once cleared of content, the redundant items can then be handed to the Oundle IT Amnesty representative at the event.
“We want to do something which has
an environmental benefit for our Duke of Edinburgh’s Award,” said Joseph and Ned, “We’re grateful to Oundle Waste Less and E-Waste Recycle for supporting our idea. Handing items in though the IT Amnesty
is a safe and careful way to deal with no- longer-needed items and will lead to better environmental outcomes for them than if they are recycled elsewhere.”
To request the IT amnesty form, please email: OundleIT@gmail.com or to book in your IT item to be cleared of photos and files at the Oundle Repair Café, contact: repaircafe@ transitionoundle.org.uk
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