Computer Recycling

Environmental and Legislative Information

Did you know your computer monitor contains over 10 times more lead than a car?

There's Lead, Phosphorus and Arsenic in cathode ray tubes, Antimony trioxide and Polybrominates are used as a flame retardants in plastic casings, cables and circuit boards, Selenium in circuit boards as a power supply rectifier, Cadmium in circuit boards and semiconductors, Chromium in steel as corrosion protection, Cobalt in steel for structure and magnetivity, Mercury in switches and housings and many others in batteries and lighting equipment.

With the average lifespan of a computer 3 years and shrinking, the environmental effect of ICT waste in landfill has become a serious issue. Governments across Europe have responded by creating laws, such as the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) in order to minimise WEEE in landfill. As a consequence, dumping redundant ICT equipment in landfill is no longer acceptable, with most electrical equipment being considered controlled waste. Comm-tech are licensed to broker, collect and transport controlled waste. We can supply full environment agency paperwork for your records.

We provide documentary evidence of legal compliance to all donors, in the form of Duty of Care (Hazardous Waste Transfer Notes) and Certificates of Charitable Reuse

Our certification ensures that our donors are indemnified of further costs related to the disposal of their IT equipment and that Comm-Tech's reuse and recycling processes are in accordance with the following legislation:

Comm-Tech wipes all hard drives in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 as part of our standard procedure. Certified Data Destruction services are also available here


The paperwork will be required for any Environmental Audit your organisation undergoes.

For more information see the following websites:

  • Environment Agency advice to householders (Opens new page)
  • DirectGov Environment and Greener living advice (Opens new page)
  • The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) guidance from DEFRA (Opens new page)
  • The Data Protection Act 1998 (Opens new page)