The problem of what to do with clapped-out electronic equipment continues to tax the EU's best minds. The alternatives are straightforward enough: you can take it to be lovingly dismantled and recycled; or you can simply bury it. The former, while highly desirable, is expensive; the latter, an ultimately unsustainable option as vast tracts of countryside are converted into poisoned dumping grounds.

There is, happily, a compromise alternative which uses existing facilities and infrastructure to dispose of unwanted kit without placing a further burden on the environment, or the taxpayer. Reader Ian Baker explains the audacious Reading Borough Council scheme:

So, it's a Bank Holiday. It'll undoubtedly rain on Monday, and I've finally run out of excuse not to take the dead 19" IBM monitor down the dump.

Bearing in mind how erattic such services can be, I thought that I'd Google to try and find out the opening times.

Up comes google.co.uk, search string "reading borough recycling opening hours" (seemed like a good first hit). Just click "I'm feeling lucky", and you'll see what I mean.

Who says landfill is dead?

That's right - if you need to dispose of unwanted computer kit in the Reading area, rest assured that it will be well taken care of. You can even pop in 365 days a year to lay flowers beside the final resting place of that faithful 19" monitor. Requiem en pacem. ®

Related stories

• UN call to tackle landfill Africa (27 November 2006)
• Consumers don't recycle enough, say manufacturers (27 December 2005)
• IBM wins £10m deal from Kent County Council (31 August 2005)
• Wales to host new £1m CRT recycling plant (2 November 2004)
• Sita flogs WEEE ops to Oz recycling giant (5 October 2004)
• Dell jumps on UK recycling bandwagon (28 September 2004)
• Toxic PCs destroy life as we know it (8 March 2004)