Diverting more devices from disposal and helping those who need them most

Far left: Richard Shea on the panel for Social value from professional ITAD

Written by Richard Shea, Service Development Manager for our Clothing Collections Division

On Thursday 17th October, I attended the 2024 ADISA conference in London. The event is home to well-known ITAD providers in the UK accredited by ADISA, along with a wide range of software providers that support this industry. ITAD, known as IT Asset Disposal is a professional service, and its core principle is the safe and secure removal of all data from IT devices.

I was asked to attend as a guest panellist, to openly discuss the role of social value from a professional ITAD Provider. This discussion is more important than ever, with millions of people in the UK impacted by digital poverty, such as, being digitally excluded if you don’t have access to a device, a connection to a reliable broadband network or if you don’t have the skills and confidence to use devices. The ITAD industry is traditionally focused on profit from trading of devices or crushing items and recovering precious materials for reuse, but we know more can be done to help people whilst, protecting the planet.

Our contribution to the discussion lends a unique perspective, over the last 2 years SATCoL has seen the impact digital poverty has on the community. Each year more and more parts of our lives transition online, this can be anything from applying for a job, accessing banking facilities, interacting with health services or even children completing homework. As the only charity-owned ITAD provider in the UK, SATCoL is keen to get as many devices back into the hands of those who need them most whilst, diverting more waste from disposal.