Perth College UHI centre rewarded for commitment to sustainable project

The project: ‘Don’t waste your e-waste’ involves Centre staff working with computing students to refurbish waste IT and communications equipment for resale, giving students access to real life work skills and practical experience - as well as offering affordable, good quality refurbished equipment for sale to staff, students and members of the public.

The awards aim to recognise exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges across the UK and Ireland.

Kate Sargent, Perth WEEE Centre Coordinator explained:

“We are delighted to be shortlisted and have the work that we do and the benefits for the students recognised nationally. Our project intends to create opportunities for young people working in technology to gain experience of working in a sustainability role.

Waste IT is collected by the WEEE Centre though various methods and computing students complete work experience, allowing them to build confidence in a work environment. Run as a not-for-profit enterprise, refurbished items are them sold on, with proceeds of sales feeding back into the student journey, such as funding for materials, student scholarships and field trips.

The WEEE Centre also makes donations of equipment to local and international charities.We have also developed a relationship with Re-Tek UK Ltd, an IT disposal and asset management company. They offer our students an annual field trip to their premises, to see the processes involved in commercial scale IT remanufacturing.

At the College’s annual prizegiving, the company also present a prize to the most outstanding student who has worked in the Centre, so this industry link is proving very beneficial to our students. The winners will be announced in November so we’re keeping our fingers crossed we can win the category, as these Green Gown Awards have become established as a significant recognition of best practice within the further and higher education sector.”