Background Greater use of IT has resulted in an increased volume of electronic waste. The EU Directive on Waste from Electronic and Electrical Equipment(WEEE) aims to promote reuse, recycling and recovery, and to minimise the environmental impacts of its treatment and disposal. It also set targets on equipment collection and reuse, including design for disassembly. IT waste management must ensure the destruction of information stored in computers that is often commercially sensitive. Objectives The project aimed to address the issued of IT waste management in the Dublin region, proposing an approach that would help create jobs and generate social inclusion in the region. The project planned to develop and implement an innovative model for the reuse, recycling and recovery of IT equipment, through the creation of a permanent partnership of public, private and non-government sectors, the generation of employment and training opportunities for local people and the creation of a sustainable local enterprise. The new company would construct state-of-the-art installations for the recycling, recovery, disposal and treatment of WEEE that can not reused. Targeted collection from both domestic and corporate users was planned. Three collection points would be established, which would also act as distribution points for recovered and re-conditioned equipment, aimed at low-income households, community groups and schools. Material not adequate for reuse would be handled by a central facility for recycling, recovery, treatment or disposal. The project would collect and manage 10 000 units of end-of-life IT equipment over its lifetime, and recondition and redistribute 2000 units. It would provide training to low-income residents and community groups in its use and maintenance, and would create 40 jobs and vocational training for young and long-term unemployed people. A detailed reporting system would provide information regarding the processes and revenues achieved. The enterprise would guarantee the destruction of all documents and equipment received from suppliers of waste IT. Following processing operations, the commodities are returned for future use or sold to raw material outlets. The option would also be given to suppliers of waste IT equipment to recover valuable and undamaged components. The project aimed to target reused equipment for distribution to communities who would not normally have accessed the IT market. The project would provide equipment and training in its use, thereby assisting their corporation into economic activity and the commercial IT market. The project would also provide after-sales repair and maintenance for users of re-conditioned equipment. An end-of-life agreement was planned with a major manufacturer, and this company would also develop, in consultation with the project partnership, a prototype for a 100% recyclable IT system, securing an Eco-label for this and other products. Results The project achieved most of its objectives and has exceeded some. In particular, it established six waste IT collection points, three more than the target. The aim of collecting and processing 20,000 items of waste IT equipment has also been exceeded. SwITch, the not-for-profit social economy enterprise established by the project, is still running well and has developed a business plan which takes account of the introduction of the WEEE Directive into Irish law. SwITch has provided work for more than 20 people. Micropro is having ongoing success with its eco-friendly computer, which may merit the EC Eco-Label. Two objectives have not been met directly by the project. The number of IT units reused is likely to be 600, significantly fewer than the target of 2 000. This was due to the inability of the project to tap into the corporate IT waste stream, which is still a lucrative area for those shipping old IT overseas. Also the project, in partnership with others, intended to train 2 000 members of the public in IT. This role has been taken over by the parallel (and somewhat overlapping) Digital Communities programme, which has trained more than 2 000 staff. SwITch is now moving into the IT training sector as part of its revised business plan. Direct environmental benefits are difficult to quantify: The project has reused 600 computers and recycled 26 000 that would otherwise have gone to landfill. However, its impact in terms of awareness-raising is probably greater. The duration of the project coincided with the implementation of the WEEE Directive into Irish law. The project had a significant input into this process and has also been significantly affected by it. SwITch derived a significant portion of its income from the collection and sorting of IT waste. This work is now carried out by the two WEEE compliance schemes, and as a result SwITch diversified its business plan, moving into IT repair and training. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section).