OKdo sets up Raspberry Pi recycling initiative

There are plans for it to become a global offering later in 2021.

OKdo Renew offers the Raspberry Pi community the facility to return used Raspberry Pi3b, Pi3b+ and Pi4 boards for free.

In return, they will receive a £10 voucher towards their next online OKdo purchase.

Richard Curtin, OKdo’s SVP of Technology said, “We are hugely excited to have partnered with Raspberry Pi and the Sony Technology Centre to provide this unique new service for the Raspberry Pi community. With the global population predicted to approach 9 billion people by 2030, we are using more resources than the planet can provide. Our future depends on reusing what we have in a sustainable way.”

He added, “Fortunately, one resource that is unlimited is innovation, and that’s exactly why OKdo has developed this innovative circular economy initiative to recycle, refurbish and reuse Raspberry Pis.  The scheme will aim to begin the recycling of a proportion of the 40 million Raspberry Pi’s in circulation today that are pre-loved but no longer used. This is a part of our ESG strategy and ongoing commitment to sustainability, electronic waste recycling and ‘tech for good’. Initially, this service is being rolled out across the UK, but we have plans to expand it globally by the end of 2021.”

Returned boards are sent directly to the Sony Technology Centre where they were originally manufactured. They are fully tested, reconditioned and renewed using recycled packaging ready for resale across the OKdo digital platforms, at a lower price than new boards.

As an added incentive, Okdo will offer a 12-month warranty on all resold refurbished boards and make a donation to the Raspberry Pi foundation for each board sold.

Eben Upton, Founder & CEO at Raspberry Pi explained, “Raspberry Pi has a long-standing commitment to sustainability. Our computers consume less power than the legacy PCs they replace, and of course consume less energy, material, and labour during the manufacturing process. Over 40 million Raspberry Pi computers have been sold since 2012, and the vast majority of these remain in working order, even after their owners have upgraded to more recent versions. Managed reuse of these surplus units provides an avenue to further reduce our environmental footprint, and we welcome this exciting new initiative from OKdo and Sony.”