Hounslow wants your old laptop, tablet or phone. Drop it at Chiswick, Isleworth or Hanworth library, to be wiped and refurbished for residents who need one.

Chiswick Library is now taking unwanted laptops, tablets and smartphones, to be wiped, refurbished and passed to Hounslow residents who cannot afford a device of their own.

The council announced the scheme on 2 September. It is running it with PayByPhone, the parking app firm, and the Digital Poverty Alliance, a charity whose stated aim is to end digital poverty by 2030.

There are three drop-off points across the borough, and Chiswick is the only one in the east of it.

Where to take a device

Library Address Open
Chiswick Community Hub and Library 1 Duke’s Avenue, W4 2AB Mon and Thu 9.30am to 8pm; Tue, Wed, Fri and Sat 9.30am to 5.30pm
Isleworth Community Hub and Library Isleworth Leisure Centre, Twickenham Road, TW7 7EU Mon and Thu 9.30am to 8pm; Tue and Sat 9.30am to 5.30pm
Hanworth Community Hub and Library Hanworth Air Park Leisure Centre, Uxbridge Road, TW13 5EG Mon and Thu 9.30am to 8pm; Tue and Sat 9.30am to 5.30pm

All three are closed on Sundays. Isleworth and Hanworth are also closed on Wednesdays and Fridays. Isleworth is about four miles from Chiswick and Hanworth about seven, so for most readers of this site Chiswick is the practical option.

Those hours come from the council’s own library directory records, checked on 3 September.

Worth knowing before you set off: the scheme’s own page publishes a single opening-hours table for all three libraries, and it says Wednesday and Friday are closed. That is right for Isleworth and Hanworth. It is wrong for Chiswick, which opens six days a week. If you were planning a Wednesday or Friday trip to Duke’s Avenue, the council’s record says you are fine.

What happens to the device

The scheme page says donated devices are “securely wiped by our ADISA-accredited refurbishment partners before being refurbished and distributed to Hounslow residents without access to the technology they need”. Neither the council nor PayByPhone names those partners.

The case the council makes for it is a national one. Across Britain, it says, one in five children and one in seven adults lack the digital access they need.

Cllr Ajmer Grewal, cabinet member for communities, culture and safety, put it this way: “What might seem like outdated kit to one person could be life-changing for someone else in our borough.”

Neither the council’s release nor the scheme page gives a closing date, so treat it as open-ended for now.

What it means for you

  • laptops, tablets and smartphones are wanted; other kit is not mentioned
  • take it to Chiswick, Isleworth or Hanworth library during opening hours. Staff will handle the donation
  • back up anything you want to keep, and sign out of your accounts, before you hand a device over. The scheme promises a secure wipe at the refurbishment stage, but that happens after it leaves your hands
  • on an iPhone or iPad, turn off Find My before you hand it over. Apple’s own guidance is to back up, sign out of iCloud and the App Store, unpair any Apple Watch and turn off Find My, which removes Activation Lock. A locked device cannot be reused by anyone else
  • there is no collection service advertised, and no drop-off point in Brentford, Hounslow town, Heston, Cranford or Feltham

The three libraries are all Community Hubs, which means staff can also help with getting online, benefits questions and finding local support, not just books.

Hounslow is separately consulting on longer library opening hours through self-access technology, which would change the times above at some sites. We covered that in Chiswick Library could open Sundays, and responses are open until 20 October.