Kettering firm's clearout gives air ambulance funding boost

Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance pilot Howard Roe (left), Dr Ewan Barron and Dr Matthew Wyse with Tom Fitzgerald, Managing Director of National Accident Helpline (second left)

National Accident Helpline, which is based in Kettering Venture Park, took part in the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance's reuse and recycle service, where businesses donate old electronic items which are returned to factory settings after being wiped of data.

Anything still useable is refurbished and sold with anything not useable recycled, preventing old hardware from being sent to landfill and raising funds.

National Accident Helpline took part after IT upgrades and donated 475kg of electronics including 100 phones, 50 PCs, monitors, laptops, printers and a TV.

It raised more than £3,500 for the air ambulance service, which receives no government funding and relies entirely on donations.

Mitchell Maybury, asset erasure manager for the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, said: “We introduced our new reuse and recycle service last year and it has been well received by businesses.

“There are plenty of benefits for both parties – we are able to help businesses meet their obligations to wipe data from old equipment, while saving them the cost and time involved in disposing of the old equipment.

“The feel-good part is that the donations we generate from reselling and recycling the equipment help to keep our medical teams airborne, while the whole process prevents this equipment from clogging up landfill.

“The donation from National Accident Helpline was most welcome, and we’d urge other companies planning an IT upgrade to think of us when deciding what to do with their old hardware.”

As well as desktop and laptop computers, monitors and televisions, the air ambulance is able to refurbish old audio-visual equipment, mobile phones, tablets, hard drives and media or video broadcasting equipment.

Tom Fitzgerald, managing director of National Accident Helpline, said: “As a business which speaks to hundreds of people injured in accidents every day, we are always looking for ways to support the services which help people when something unexpected happens.

“The air ambulance is an incredible, vital service which we will continue to support in any way we can."