Thousands of computers will be recycled thanks to a new scheme at Birmingham City Council that will call on the support of staff.

Service Birmingham, the joint venture between the council and Capita reviewing alternative ways of working, has launched a scheme to recycle up to 20,000 Council computers as and when they are updated.

The Government's new environment legislation regarding the disposal and scrapping of hazardous electronic equipment has motivated Service Birmingham to appoint Secure IT, a local organisation which specialises in the recycling of computers.

This partnership will ensure that the council's computers will be disposed of in an environmentally friendly and secure manner. Where possible they will be recycled and refurbished for use in the local community for a nominal charge payable to the charities.

As part of this new initiative, staff will be recruited via community programmes to help process the computers.

Once the old computers have been through the checking and cleaning process with Secure IT they will be handed to two local charitable organisations.

One is Crash IT, an organisation which employs people with special needs and trains and prepares them for the workplace, and ENTA, which provides vocational training for 14 to 16-year-olds who have a requirement for skills not available in mainstream education.

These not-for-profit companies and their employees and trainees will help prepare the computers for public and community use.

Helen O'Dea, chief executive of Service Birmingham, said: "This new recycling initiative demonstrates the commitment by Service Birmingham to reduce the environmental impact of technology.

"We're also delighted to be working with these local organisations that have such a positive impact on our community."

Fred Shaw, Service Birmingham's CSR manager, said: "As a result of this scheme the local community will benefit in several ways as we aim to minimise our carbon footprint as much as possible by using local companies within the Birmingham area to create additional jobs and training within the local community and help give Birmingham citizens the ability to connect to the internet.

Councillor Paul Tilsley of Birmingham City Council said: "This is a great example of how partnerships between local organisations can have a direct impact on the environment and the community.

"We look forward to hearing about the results of this Service Birmingham initiative."