We face a joint crisis – digital exclusion and e-waste problem – an often overlooked situation that requires fresh initiatives addressing both in one breath. Ending digital inclusion must be rooted in a genuine and ethical approach; hence, the need for circularity. Across different places, vulnerable members of society have been left behind and excluded from the advantages and even the everyday necessity of using digital technologies in everyday life. Pachedu, a local ethnic minority-led project from Ferguslie Park in Paisley, is trying to make things better.
The rising cost of internet, software and hardware devices, as well as structural difficulties in access to training and education are making it hard for disadvantaged communities to access the opportunities and (sometimes essential) resources procured by digital technology. Communities, however, are always aware of their needs, and when they organise, they can make their lives better. Ferguslie Park, once dubbed the most deprived area in Scotland, is home to many vibrant and wonderful community projects. One of these projects, Pachedu, has started a project aiming to tackle that very problem.
Pachedu is supported in their quest by Renfrewshire Council, who along with fighting digital exclusion, are also aiming to tackle the other crisis: e-waste generation. The UK is among the worst electronic polluters in the world, with large amounts of electronic devices ending up in incinerators and landfills across the country. In a report by the Green Alliance, there is an unnecessary recycling of about 30,000 usable electrical products every week, while about 880 million unused items rust away on ‘drawers of doom’ in many households across the UK. Giving a new use to these devices is part of the Circular Economy approach, where things are used again, if possible, instead of turning them into waste unnecessarily.
A new home for devices
People from Ferguslie Park, Paisley, Renfrewshire and Scotland in general can now bring their old devices (phones, tablets and laptops, along with their chargers if they are still around) to any of Renfrewshire public libraries, and Pachedu will check them, reset them, and deliver them to local organisations or individuals who need them.
Launch of Pachedu’s Digital Inclusion Hub (Desktops donated by CEMVO Scotland)
A new Digital Inclusion Hub
As a member of the Ethnic Minority Environmental Network, Pachedu’s digital inclusion programme has received a donation of 15 desktops from CEMVO Scotland, which will be part of a new Digital Inclusion Hub. This Hub will be a place where local people could get training and access to computers running on Open-Source software, so they can use digital resources and also free themselves from depending on paid-for operating systems and software, one of the many causes of digital exclusion.