Tadweer urges residents to donate used laptops

A new recycling initiative, Tadweer, aims at encouraging the public to donate their used laptops, which will be recycled, refurbished and donated to educational, social and charitable institutions, organisers said in a statement on Monday. Dubai Municipality (DM) teamed up with the Emirates National Oil Company and TNT Express UAE on Sunday to launch the campaign, which will continue for eight to 12 months and is in line with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Foundation. The operational aspect of the campaign is simple: people who wish to donate their used laptop can visit any of the ten participating ENOC/EPPCO retail stations and collect branded sleeves to place the laptop in. The laptops will be collected from the collection points every week by TNT. The refurbished laptops will be distributed as per the specifications of DM to welfare schools, educational institutes or NGOs. According to Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general, DM, all laptops sourced through the collection boxes will be formatted, fixed and refurbished at the civic body’s PC Refurbishment Centre for distribution among charity organisations or welfare institutes. Meanwhile, Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, UAE minister of environment & water, added that the UAE is taking several concerted initiatives to promote sustainable development with a focus on involving private sector organisations and the public at large.