7th September 2026
Tech Rescue, a new three-year initiative has launched to build one of the UK’s first scalable, economically sustainable, and community-led frameworks for tech reuse. The initiative has been brought together by Good Things Foundation, alongside the University of Liverpool and Material Focus who lead the Recycle Your Electricals campaign, to tackle e-waste and provide low-cost tech to those in need.
Thanks to National Lottery players, Tech Rescue has received £1,497,312 from the Climate Action Fund, a long-term commitment from The National Lottery Community Fund to support communities across the UK to act on climate change and involve more people in positive environmental action.
According to Material Focus research, there are over 188 million unused digital devices held onto in UK homes and the Tech Rescue programme aims to repurpose 8,500 devices directly to households across the UK, helping to fix the digital divide through long term, sustainable action.
To build local community access for device reuse across the UK, Tech Rescue is collaborating with 12 regional ‘Tech Rescue Hubs’. Screen Share, Born Good, and Recognition Circular are also serving as dedicated ‘co-design hubs’ to ensure the project is shaped by the communities it serves. The co-design hubs will then be joined by: Tech Skills for Life, PCrefurb, RecycleIT, Refurbit, Repair & Share Foyle, Turing Trust, Tech-Takeback Foundation, Donate IT and a soon to be announced partner in Wales. Together, they are driving cross-sector action to embed device reuse across all digital inclusion initiatives. In 2027, they will be launching a public campaign calling on businesses and the public to donate their unwanted tech.
Natasha Early, Senior Programme Manager (Tech Rescue), Good Things Foundation said: “Tech Rescue isn’t just another campaign; it’s about building a sustainable, community-led infrastructure that ensures device reuse is baked into regional digital inclusion initiatives, not bolted on. Through our collaboration with the 12 exemplar Tech Rescue Hubs, we will create clear, local, and impactful roadmaps for everyone – individuals and organisations—to turn their disused technology into a lifeline for those experiencing digital exclusion.”
Dr. Jeanette D’Arcy, Senior Research Associate, University of Liverpool, said: “Our role is to listen and learn throughout the project to ensure we fully understand how to make the biggest difference. By keeping technology in use for longer and fixing the digital divide, we are proving that we can reduce waste and support social equality through proven, practical solutions.”
Vanessa Gibbin, Director of Marketing, Communications and Behaviour change, Material Focus said: “Millions of usable devices sit hidden in drawers across the UK while people are being left behind in an increasingly digital world. Tech Rescue is building a localised, sustainable model that turns unwanted tech into a lifeline for people who need it most.”
For more on Tech Rescue, visit our information page.
Media Contact
Rosa@materiafocus.org.uk
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About Good Things Foundation
Good Things Foundation is the UK’s leading digital inclusion charity. We work to fix the digital divide at a hyperlocal level with our National Digital Inclusion Network – comprised of over 8,000 community partners providing a range of free digital inclusion support, such as:
● The National Databank, providing free mobile connectivity data;
● The National Device Bank, in partnership with Reconome, supplying free
devices to people in need;
● Learn My Way, our free flagship basic digital skills platform, widely used in
libraries and supporting thousands to get online;
● and the AI Gateway, a new free, interactive learning platform designed to
help demystify AI.
We work in partnership with organisations such as Virgin Media O2, Vodafone, Three, Accenture, and Nominet to deliver at scale, and advocate for digital inclusion to fix the digital divide – for good. Good Things Foundation believes everyone should have the confidence, skills, support and access to use digital technology, participate in society and benefit from the digital world. For more information on Good Things Foundation visit www.goodthingsfoundation.org
About University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool’s Digital Media & Society Institute (DMSI) brings together multidisciplinary researchers to explore the role and impact of digital media in society today. Our work aims to understand the role of digital media across society, culture, and the economy. We want to leverage the benefits and mitigate the risks for civil society, policy, industry, and academia in today’s digital
world.
Digital Inclusion is a key DMSI research theme and we work with a range of academic and non-academic partners on projects focused on supporting organisations, groups, and individuals and informing policymaking to help ensure equitable access to digital devices, skills, knowledge, services, and opportunities across society.
Our work includes developing the Minimum Digital Living Standard, working with survivors of modern slavery, exploring digital inclusion and media literacy provision across the UK, and finding out about the digital needs of families caring for children with rare conditions.
Digital Media & Society Institute | University of Liverpool
About Material Focus
Material Focus is the UK’s leading independent non-profit tackling e-waste, and the organisation behind the award-winning Recycle Your Electricals campaign. Electrical waste is the fastest-growing type of waste in the world. When electricals are binned or stashed away in homes, we lose some of the most critical, finite materials like lithium, copper and gold — and devices that could be helping people who need them most.
We are working with partners and the public to build a future where fixing, donating, re-selling and recycling electricals is the norm – and valuable, critical and finite materials are never wasted. We do this by creating evidence-based insights, investing in local reuse and recycling solutions, and inspiring nationwide action through the UK-wide Recycle Your Electricals campaign.
Material Focus is funded by producers of electricals through the UK’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations.
About The National Lottery Community Fund
We are the largest non-statutory community funder in the UK – community is at the heart of our purpose, vision and name. We support activities that create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable and that will strengthen society and improve lives across the UK.
We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.
As well as responding to what communities tell us is important to them, our funding is focused on four key missions, supporting communities to:
Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, we distribute around £500 million a year through 10,000+ grants and plan to invest over £4bn of funding into communities by 2030. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.
National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £47 billion has been raised and more than 670,000 individual grants have been made across the UK – the equivalent of around 240 National Lottery grants in every UK postcode district.
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