Our Impact — Closing the Loop Between Waste and Need

Recycle4Charity measures its impact across two dimensions: social (devices rehomed, people in London connected to the internet) and environmental (kg of e-waste diverted from landfill, estimated kg of CO₂ saved through reuse over new manufacture). Impact data is collected through partner reporting and updated regularly. Launching 2026 — first impact report to follow.

Our impact in numbers

Recycle4Charity launched in 2026. Our first full impact report will be published at [date] and updated [quarterly/annually] thereafter. The counters on this page reflect our running totals as partner organisations report back on device distributions.

Metric Current total
Devices rehomed [X]
People connected [X]
kg e-waste diverted from landfill [X]
Estimated kg CO₂ saved [X]

If you are a funder or commissioner and need to discuss projected impact ahead of the first report, contact us.

How device reuse cuts e-waste and carbon

The UK generates approximately 1.65 million tonnes of electronic waste per year — the fastest-growing waste stream in the country. Most of this arises from consumer electronics and business IT being replaced rather than reused.

Manufacturing a new laptop generates significantly more carbon and resource consumption than refurbishing an existing one. When Recycle4Charity refurbishes a device instead of recycling it into raw materials, it avoids the full manufacturing carbon cost of the new device that would otherwise be needed. We calculate CO₂ savings using [a recognised published methodology], which we cite in full in our impact report so funders and partners can verify our figures. For more on UK e-waste, see our guide to UK e-waste statistics.

Who we help — digital exclusion in London

Digital exclusion is not a peripheral issue. Research by the Good Things Foundation estimates that millions of UK adults lack the device, connectivity or skills to participate fully in digital life — affecting access to employment, education, healthcare, benefits and social connection.

In London, digital exclusion is concentrated in specific communities: refugees navigating services in a new language; older people who have never been online or who lost access when their device broke; families where children share a single smartphone for schoolwork; people emerging from homelessness or crisis support who need a device to rebuild employment.

Recycle4Charity addresses the device half of this problem. Through our partner organisations, refurbished devices reach people alongside the human support that makes them genuinely useful.

How we measure impact

Social impact: the number of devices distributed to people in need, reported by partner organisations. Partners tell us how many beneficiaries received a device and the broad recipient category. We report what partners confirm — we do not invent or extrapolate figures.

Environmental impact: the volume of e-waste diverted from landfill and the estimated CO₂ savings from device reuse over new manufacture. We apply [a published methodology] to calculate per-device figures and aggregate them. The source and method are cited in the impact report.

For funders and partners

Recycle4Charity welcomes enquiries from grant funders, commissioners and corporate partners who want to understand our impact methodology or discuss programme support. Download our impact summary [Launching 2026] or contact us to talk directly.

Read more about Recycle4Charity — who we are, how the model works, and how we’re funded.

Frequently asked questions

Recycle4Charity measures social impact through the number of devices rehomed and the number of people who receive a device via partner organisations. Environmental impact is calculated by applying recognised CO₂-per-device and material-weight estimates to the volume of equipment diverted from landfill. Methodology details are published in the impact report.

Refurbishing and reusing a laptop instead of manufacturing a new one saves a significant quantity of CO₂ and raw materials — published estimates vary by device type. Recycle4Charity applies [a recognised published methodology] to calculate savings per device and reports the totals in each impact update, with the source cited for independent verification.

Recycle4Charity launched in 2026 — figures for devices rehomed and people connected will be published in our first impact report. We report beneficiary numbers via partner organisations, which record how many people received a device from each delivery.

CO₂ savings from device reuse are estimated using the difference between the carbon cost of manufacturing a new equivalent device and the carbon cost of the refurbishment process. We apply [a recognised published methodology] and state the source in every impact report so funders and partners can verify our calculations independently.

Recycle4Charity's impact report will be available to download from this page from [date]. In the meantime, contact us at [email] for information about our projected impact or to discuss partnership and funding opportunities.