The £53 million redevelopment of a Scottish College is setting a new precedent by using redundant equipment to help the lives of the worlds poorest.

Around 65 tonnes of redundant items from Jewel & Esk college, which is being refitted, will be recycled, re-used or repaired before being shipped in 40ft containers to improve the educational opportunities of thousands of children in Africa as part of the e:volve project.

The items, ranging from chairs and tables to filling cabinets and IT equipment, have all come from the college's Milton Road campus which is being completely refitted and a new building added to provide learning and teaching facilities.

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The items are to be removed from the Milton Road campus and will be used to provide much needed resources for use in a developing country. Among the communities destined to benefit are the villages of Limbe and Batoke in Western Cameroon and an educational and medical centre in The Gambia.

Steve Hudson, Director of Campus Redevelopment for the e:volve Project said: "The e:volve Project is committed to environmental best practice and equipment that would most likely have ended up in landfill is now being used in a highly positive and constructive way.

"Our surplus items will be used to enhance the lives of remote communities ensuring that it is not just people in Edinburgh and Lothians who benefit from the project but also those far further afield."

(DW/JM)