During the pandemic, digital exclusion became a matter of exclusion from society full stop. Civil society stepped up, and community groups and local initiatives across the UK set up to accept donations of their old laptops, computers and other electronic items. They then fix and upgrade these devices and distribute them to locals in need.
The problem hasn’t gone away, and these community groups are still providing devices to those in need: Refugees, school children, job seekers. They still need devices, so if you have one hidden away, find your nearest digital reuse project below.
Where to donate your computer
Here we list computer reuse projects across the United Kingdom that accept individual donations for reuse to combat digital exclusion in the local community. Many projects are also looking for cash donations.
At the Restart Project, we’ve been working with local communities since 2013 to help them repair electronics. Read more about us and how you can get involved in helping us dismantle the e-waste mountain. Your own volunteer time and knowledge can make a real difference! Lastly, learn more about thorough data erasure on our Wiki. Projects will do this for you, but you can use our Wiki to learn more and verify the process with the group you are donating to.
If there are no digital inclusion reuse organisations in your area, find other options for reusing your device here.
You can download a CSV file of the organisations listed here. Please attribute to us when you use it. The data is licensed as CC BY-SA 4.0.
Suggest a community computer reuse organisation
If you know of an organisation or project that we have not yet listed, please get in touch with us through the form below. We’re looking for groups that accept individual donations, for reuse in the local community.
Please note that we cannot list schools, organisations or projects unless they have publicly accessible information about their initiative, such as a webpage.
If your school needs computers, please make your request to TechforUK or Business2Schools. If you need help starting your own scheme to receive donations, see Nominet’s Reboot Project.
