WE WENT AND SNIFFED around the premises of Milton Keynes' Computer Remarketing Services a while ago.

Impressed, we were, with the industrious little outfit of computer recyclers, cleaning up discarded, functional IT kit and passing it on.

We asked boss, Terry Maguire, to ship us a couple of PC systems to have a fiddle with. One running Windows XP and run running an implementation of Linux. He did. And we have duly fiddled. And mighty pleased with the merchandise we are too.

CRS sent us a Dell desktop Optiplex system, bragging a 2.8GHz Pentium 4 and running Windows XP Professional. We've also been running a similar HP Pentium 4 based system set up to dual boot to either Windows XP or Mandriva Linux.

The systems arrived impressively packaged up in much of their original cardboard. The PCs themselves are compact desktop systems, similarly sized. The Dell wins on looks while both already look decidedly retro. The HP wins on weight and feels like it's made of solid steel.

Well according to the UN University (UNU) about 1.8 tonnes of material. The UNU research discovered that to produce a PC and it's CRT display it takes 240Kgs of fossil fuel, this is some 10 times the weight of the computer itself. This is very high compared with other goods. Cars and refrigerators use just their own weight during production. Additionally 22Kgs. of chemicals are used in the PC many of which have now been identified as hazardous to human health. Not to mention the 1500Kgs. of water also used during the various production processes. Not surprisingly the UNU concludes the environmental impacts associated with using fossil fuels, hazardous chemicals and water are significant and "deserve attention".

In a later publication UNU goes on to say "Extending the usable life is a very effective way of reducing all types of burdens, but relatively few older PCs are being resold, refurbished or recycled - most are stored and eventually end up in landfills."

We are pleased to confirm that CRS was registered as an Approved Authorised Treatment Facility (AATF) by the Environment Agency on 9th July 2007 Approval Number WEE/HF0003ZS/ATF.

Under the new regulations introduced in the Summer only Authorised Treatment Facilities registered with the Environment Agency are permitted to manage the disposal of electronic equipment.

The new regulations are very complex and vary according to the type of equipment, when purchased and in the case of business whether being replaced on a "like for like" basis. In addition for business users the commercial terms agreed with the original supplier will also have a bearing.

If you need advice please call.