Current News

You'll find current news items here. If you wish to read further, there are links on the right to some archived news items.

ComputerAid

15th June 2007

In response to the numerous queries we recieve about what people can do with their old PC'S we are writing to advise our clients of an organisation called Computer Aid International.

Computer Aid International provides high quality, professionally refurbished computers for reuse in education, health and not-for-profit organisations in developing countries. Computer Aid has shipped over 80,000 PCs to where they are most needed in more than 100 countries, making them the world's largest and most experienced not-for-profit supplier of ICT 4 Development.

All donated PCs are thoroughly data-wiped to the highest standard. Computer Aid International are aware of how important this is for all their donors and for this reason they have formed a partnership with the leading data removal specialist, and Ministry of Defence approved, market leaders Blancco.

Once the hard drives have been completely removed of data by one of their technicians, the PC is fully refurbished and tested before it is boxed, ready for shipment to the developing world.

For further information and contact details please visit their website at www.computeraid.org

We hope you find this information useful and that your experience with this organisation is as positive as ours has been.

A WEEE Problem

28th February 2007

As of July 2007, retailers and manufacturers in the UK will be responsible for the safe disposal of electronic/electrical equipment they produce, as a response to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive.

The WEEE directive's purpose is to try and reduce the amount of old electronic equipment from reaching normal landfill sites by arranging for them to be collected and disposed off seperately; a laudable goal considering the average UK consumer produces approximately three tonnes of WEEE in their lifetime.

The WEEE Directive actually became law in the UK on 2nd January. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 take immediate effect, but suppliers don't have to take full responsibility for the disposal of goods until 1st July 2007.

The WEEE directive requires manufacturers and sellers to provide facilities that will allow consumers to easily get rid of their equipment. Local authorities have already set up specialised WEEE recycling areas at their recycling plants.

Costs

Originally consumers wouldn't cover the cost of taking products back as they could drop off old equipment at the retailers when buying new equipment.

Currently the onus is on the retailer to inform the customer what arrangements are in place (either by taking back products or becoming part of a retailer compliance scheme. It will be illegal for retailers to charge to recycle equipment, but they will be allowed to levy a charge for picking up equipment should the customer be unable to get to the recycle facilities.

Retailers and some manufacturers have warned that the price of new products will increase in order to offset the costs involved in recycling. The DTI has denied that the scheme would see customers paying more (citing countries such as Germany where WEEE is already implemented to show prices haven't risen). However it is likely that companies could pass on the cost to the customer as a form of "visible fee" on the sale of new goods.

Some useful links on the WEEE directive and how you can help:

http://www.weeecare.com/
This site gives advice as well as an online quote on collection.
Intoductory article from The Register
[Thur 4th January 2007]
The European Commission's own website
Lots of information on legislation and reports.
General article on the directive
[07 Aug 2006]

Web Accessibility and the WAI

9th January 2007

Web accessibility is about making your website accessible to all Internet users (both disabled and non-disabled), regardless of which browsing technology they're using. It is an important aspect of a company's web prescence, and can have an impact on their userbase and how their users interact with the company.

The WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) was set up by the W3C organisation, the governing body of standards and technologies used throughout the web.

Moral Dimension

Ensuring you website is accessible means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can also contribute to the Web.

Legal Dimension

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) makes it illegal for companies to provide an inferior service to, or discriminate against, a disabled person. This legislation extends to websites.

Despite the guidelines, recent studies by the Disability Rights Commission and the United Nations have shown that compliance has been very slow.

Business Dimension

Aside from the legal and moral obligations, there are compelling arguments to ensure WAI compatability from a business perspective. There is a consensus that any site that conforms to the WAI guidelines benefits all users, irrespective of their abilities, due to the general improvements in site navigation and usablility, download speed, content clarity and quality of mark-up that compliance provides.

Failing to make a website accessible could mean a very real loss in potential business. The competitive nature of business is born out of the advantages a company can rely on. When you consider that disabled people in the UK have a disposable income of £80 billion per year, and people aged over sixty years old have a large spending power, it would seem that ignoring these demographics could result in considerable financial losses.

Useful links and further reading;

How Green Is Your Office?

19th March 2007

It's becoming increasingly important for companies to be aware of their energy usage and, if at all possible, reduce their 'carbon footprint'. We looked into the issue and came up with the following set of guidelines you may find useful.

Top office tips

If you have to print a document or email, just print the text you need.
Put on more clothes rather than turning up the heating!
Turn off your monitor when you go for lunch, a meeting or even a tea break.
Turn off your PC if you're not going to be using it for a few hours.
Use timer switches to turn off vending machines when the office is closed.
Make the most of natural lighting - open the blinds!
Use hand-dryers rather than paper towels.
Use a laptop and projector to run meetings electronically.
Mark junk mail 'Return to sender' or ask to be removed from the mailing list.
Use (or install) video-conferencing to save travel for meetings.

PCs, monitors and PDAs

Leaving your monitor or computer on stand-by mode still consumes significant amounts of electricity, as much as 30% of normal use in some cases.
Switch off your monitor every time you are away from your desk for a few minutes.
Shut down your PC every time you are away from your desk for more than a couple of hours.
Change the settings (Start » Control panel » Display) to automatically switch off monitors and/or shut down when not in use.
A light flashing on your monitor shows that it is still on and is wasting energy.
Collect unused discs, erase them, put new labels on them and make them available for re-use.
Note that setting-up a screen saver does not save any energy. They are there to stop the image of a static screen from being imprinted on the monitor glass.
Leave your personal digital assistant switched off while in the holder. It will still charge and you only need to turn it on for a minute or so before removing it to let it syncronise.

Lighting

Make the most of natural light. Don't block it with filing cabinets, plants or blinds that are permanently shut!
Switch off lights when you are last to leave rooms and when they are not needed.
Turn off lights in the toilets, kitchen, meeting rooms etc. when not needed.
Flickering fluorescent tubes use up more energy. If you see one, report it!
Turning off fluorescent tubes frequently does not mean that more electricity is used when they are turned back on and does not have a significant impact on the life of the tube (compared to the energy saved).

Heating and other equipment

Keep doors and windows shut (and avoid opening them to cool a room if the heating is still on).
Water coolers, vending machines and boilers can be connected to timer switches so that they are not constantly in use over evenings and weekends.
Never turn on local A/C units for cooling purposes if the heating is on. The systems end up working against each other, wasting energy in the process.
If you feel the cold, consider wearing a thicker shirt or blouse, a jumper or a fleece to work.
Check that the radiators in your room are set appropriately. It is not necessary to continually turn your radiator up and down from minimum to maximum. Thermostatic radiator valves work by stabilising the local temperature to that set by the switch e.g. if the valve is set to II, the radiator will work to heat the air around the thermostat to the level of heat corresponding to 'II'. Generally, once set, they do not need to be touched again.

Paper, printing and photocopying

Photocopying

Use the size reduction feature offered on many copiers. Two pages of a book or periodical can often be copied onto one standard sheet.
Photocopy double sided.
Put a paper recycling box beside the photocopier.
Recycle all toner cartridges.
Switch off the copier overnight (a photocopier left on overnight wastes enough energy to make 5,300 A4 copies).

Paper

Re-use paper that's already printed on one side by manually feeding it into copiers and printers for draft documents.
Once-used paper can also be reused in plain paper fax machines - they only need one clean side.
Re-use old paper for notepads.
Re-use internal and external envelopes by using re-use stickers.
Recycle all paper including white and coloured stationary, stapled paper, magazines and cardboard that cannot be re-used again (if possible).
A box containing paper that has only be used once can be placed at printers.
Do this by using the manual feed tray on the machine.
Contact the waste minimisation team to obtain a supply of 'reuse' stickers.
Stop junk mail by marking it RETURN TO SENDER and re-posting it.
Register with the Mailing Preference Service by writing to MPS, Freepost 22, London, W1E 7EZ; phone 0207 766 4410 or visit www.mpsonline.org.uk (service is for UK residential addresses only).

Printing

Do you really need a hard copy of it? Can you save the message/attachments instead?
Instead of printing a web page, bookmark it or save the page.
Proof the document on screen before printing.
Consider changing the margin sizes, especially on drafts.
Reducing the point size of your text may save lots of paper.
Check margins when printing on headed paper.
If you only need the page you are working on, go to File » Print and click on Current Page on the 'Page range' section.
If you only need a specific number of pages, go File » Print and put the page numbers in on the 'Page range' section.
Check if your printer will print multiple pages on an A4 sheet (2, 4, 6, 9 or 16 pages).
Check if your printer can print double sided (most larger laser printers can).
If you do print something, retrieve it immediately. This helps to avoid the need for printing it again (because it has gone walkabout etc.)
Switch the printer off at night - the last person to leave the office should do this.
Recycle all ink toner cartridges.

Reducing the length of emails for printing

When replying to e-mail messages most users have Outlook set to 'Include original message text'. A long exchange can lead to several pages of text which can waste paper when printing the most recent message.
To insert the original email into your response (for reading and printing if necessary);
- Select Tools on the Outlook menu bar
- Select Options » Preferences
- Select E-mail Options
- Under On replies and forwards choose the option Attach original message.

Other office tips

You can run meetings electronically by using LCD equipment to project agendas and papers rather than having everyone bring hard copies. You can also take notes on scrap paper or record minutes directly into your laptop (if you have one).
Paper towels are often a major source of waste. Try to use hand dryers, where available, rather than paper towels. (The advice from a local authority environmental health department is that the risk of cross-contamination from using hand dryers is minimal.)