Back in December we looked at the ways to save energy and be sustainable with digital signage in education. This included how to be aware of the small changes we can make and the difference it can have when using tech. Continuing with our ongoing sustainability series we will explore the various ways to reuse, recycle and refurbish your schools technology and discover the many aspects of reducing tech waste and making a positive impact on the environment.
Recycle & refurbish
Recycling your tech efficiently can be a pretty hard task especially when you’re not 100% sure which parts can and can’t be recycled or refurbished. Naturally we all want to be conscious about the environment, especially in an education setting but it can also be a concern whether you’ll be doing more harm than good.
Luckily there are companies which specialise in this, with an ongoing mission to help the environment, finding ethical ways to recycle and refurbish your schools IT equipment. We recently caught up with Chris Stevenson, Customer Relationship Director at Rapid IT, who told us about what they do as a company and how important it is to reduce technology pollution,
“Rapid IT is an IT hardware solutions provider, servicing the entire hardware lifecycle. From the supply of new and refurbished hardware, deployment of hardware to desks, decommissioning of redundant hardware from desks right through to IT asset disposal and recycling. As a company they have a Purpose Beyond Profit, sustainability and social value is at their core. Rapid IT work with large multinational enterprises such as Booking.com, medium and small businesses as well as all sizes of Education establishments from Universities, Academy trusts, early years, primary and secondary education.”
Book a TrilbyTV Demo
Book free Demo“With a mission to reduce pollution from the IT hardware industry they seek to reuse as much equipment as possible. Carrying out AIDSA Certified IT Asset Disposal services for large multinationals who retire IT hardware after 3 or 5 years is key. By professionally data wiping, thoroughly testing and refurbishing these devices, their life can be extended by up to another 5 years. In addition to this, if the equipment is beyond its useful life, their ADISA Certified IT Recycling service ensures that no equipment ever goes to landfill and that the raw materials are put back into manufacturing processes to be used again, removing the need to mine for more precious metals.”
Reusing old tech to use as digital signage
When considering screens to use for your digital signage you don’t always have to purchase something new, you can always upcycle and make use of an unused computer screen to display the content around your school.
Norwich University of the Arts have been innovatively repurposing unused iMacs as alternative methods of digital signage to display student work, we caught up with Norwich University of the Arts workshop Manager, Carl Bayliss who told us “…what has also really worked well is operating TrilbyTV on redundant iMacs. These are perfect for exhibiting students’ work at end of year shows.”
Turning old tech into something fun or creative
Why not get creative? We explored some fun ways to turn your technology into something else! From exciting home decor ideas, such as a fish tank made from an old computer monitor, clocks made from a hard drive and various pieces of artwork that have been created from electronic waste parts. The possibilities are endless and you can have so much fun experimenting with different outcomes. So there you go, there’s just a few ideas to get you started, we have so much more to explore and can’t wait to share new and innovative ideas in our ongoing sustainability series.