Photos: How old PCs are creating opportunities

Critics of such recycling schemes suggest organisations such as Computer Aid International are simply passing the buck when it comes to recycling, and are dumping useless kit on the developing world.

Although some evidence has been found to support these claims, organisations such as CAI and CFSK say they are determined to avoid the pitfalls some well-intentioned charities have fallen into.

As well as ensuring all PCs are in good working order before being sent to schools, CFSK ensures they remain in service for as long as they deliver value to the schools. When it is no longer useful to schools, the old kit is put to good use elsewhere.

CFSK's Edwin Martins (above) says Kenya is far better equipped to extract end-of-life value than consumer cultures in the West that will bin things more quickly.

Martins explains that many components, such as metals from a motherboard, can be re-used, and says Kenya's growing population of skilled electricians is finding uses for many power supply units, cables and wiring which might otherwise have been sent to landfill in the UK had they not been sent to Kenya.

Photo credit: Will Sturgeon