Highfield and Brookham School joins e-waste revolution

Recycling old computer components is helping an independent school in Liphook ease the burden on the environment caused by e-waste.

Highfield and Brookham School has donated more than a hundred items of defunct electrical equipment to Jamie’s Computers, specialists in professional and ethical IT recycling based in Southampton.

Homelessness charity The Society of St James set up Jamie’s Computers as a computer recycling social enterprise in 2002 and the charity now services more than 1,500 clients, including schools, colleges and universities from across the region.

Highfield and Brookham joined that list in the summer, with the school’s IT department donating laptops, desktop computers, flat-screen monitors and switches, all of which will be refurbished and sold on or stripped of their assets, with nothing going to landfill.

Controlled disposal of electrical equipment is critical for the environment as many components inside computers contain metals and other materials that can be toxic if they leach into soil and water systems, resulting in significant consequences for both the environment and human health.

Also, various parts such as circuit boards, hard drives and processors contain valuable metal components such as gold, silver and copper which can be extracted and repurposed, therefore reducing the need to mine for more raw resources.

By recycling and reusing these components, Jamie’s Computers significantly reduces the environmental impact of electronic waste by conserving natural resources, decreasing the energy needed to produce new products, and lowering the overall cost of manufacturing. It also helps prevent the harmful effects of e-waste.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham, which is fully committed to its longstanding programme of environmental work and aims to be carbon neutral within the next six years, said: “Jamie’s Computers is such a wonderful venture, not only helping tackle homelessness through social enterprise but also safeguarding the environment for future generations.

“As a busy, modern school, we naturally utilise a great deal of technology, so it’s heartening to know that we have an outlet where we can dispose of our old items safely, responsibly and sustainably.”

Highfield and Brookham, which occupies a green, 175-acre site on the rural borders of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex, is a big advocate of a greener, more sustainable way of life and has for the past two years been named a finalist in the prestigious Education Business Awards for its ongoing environmental practices as well as winning the Talk Education Environmental Achievement Award in 2023.