HC Deb 21 January 1998 vol 304 cc557-8W
Mr. Barnes

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is her Department's policy regarding the recycling of information technology equipment within her Department and relevant agencies and to other Government departments or agencies; and what arrangements have been made in this respect. [23245]

Clare Short

We have recently replaced virtually all our printers and desk-top computers throughout the Department for International Development following our change to the Windows 95 operating environment, and as a result of the introduction of resource accounting. We negotiated buy-back clauses for our old equipment with the suppliers of the new equipment. The suppliers are then responsible for selling the equipment on or recycling it.

For more ad hoc exercises where buy-back is not an option, we are in contact with RECOMMIT, the recycling organisation, which specialises in recycling Information Technology equipment in the public sector.