Consumers in Hertfordshire have boosted HP's recycling drive by donating their unwanted or obsolete IT equipment.

About 800 people in Langley, Hemel Hempstead, Hitchin and Hertford attended charitable recycling events in January and February this year, organised by the printer manufacturer and Hertfordshire Waste Aware Partnership.

Members of the public were asked to bring along unwanted printers, notebooks, inkjet printers, scanners and photocopiers that could be refurbished or recycled.

The drive produced a total of 2,500 items (46 tonnes) of unwanted IT equipment, of which about a third (716 items) could be refurbished and donated to charities such as the children's charity NCH.

Others were resold by HP to UK organisations unable to afford new equipment. HP said that the money made from these would go to fund the Maxitech.biz Edge Employer IT hardware training programme.

The scheme is designed to help disadvantaged people gain nationally recognised computer qualifications.

The equipment that could not be reused will be recycled.

According to HP environmental take-back manager Dr Kirstie McIntyre, the recycling events were part of HP’s global goal to recycle 900,000 tonnes of IT equipment by 2010.

She said that the take-back scheme acted like a push to get consumers to donate their old products, which they often put off until they face life-changing experiences, such as buying a house or having a baby.

“Consumers usually replace their computer equipment every four to five years. However, research has found that instead of recycling their old products straight away, they will often put it aside in a spare room and only take it to a recycling point when they need to have a clear out.

“Not only does this cause clutter but it also means that these products lose their usability value,” she said.

County Councillor Derrick Ashley, chairman of the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership said: “By taking part in these take-back events our residents have helped to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill.

"We want to get as many people actively recycling as possible and this excellent initiative, in partnership with Hewlett Packard, helped us achieve that.”