E-Waste Collection Competition
Last year, we ran a house E-waste collection competition for students and staff. We received 541 items of E-waste, from small items like charging cables up to TVs, stereos, and vacuum cleaners.
We’re launching another E-waste collection from the start of week seven and we’re hoping for more than 1000 E-waste items collected. There will be bins out the back of the House Leaders’ staffroom at the back of the hall labelled with each house logo. Please bring in any E-waste you have at home and drop it in between now and Wednesday of week ten.
What counts as E-waste?
Basically anything with a cord or battery. This includes items like beard trimmers, electric toothbrushes, alarm clocks, charging cables, phones, laptops, microwaves, toasters, kettles, printers, keyboards, mice, VCRs, DVD players, drills, blenders or any other appliance. If you plugged it in to use or charge it, it’s what we’re looking for. Click here if you want to find out more.
What happens to the E-waste?
All E-waste we collect is picked up from school by Substation 33 in Kingston. They run an amazing program dismantling all items and reusing or recycling more than 96% of what they get, diverting valuable resources from landfill. Their recycling program engages marginalised, disadvantaged and long-term unemployed people to develop confidence and work skills that hopefully will help them gain employment. They even build affordable laptops to provide families an option to purchase a device they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. Many of the old laptop batteries also end up as battery storage for use in conjunction with solar panels in developing countries through a partnership with another community organisation called Powerwells.
Use this as an excuse to clean out the junk drawer or the garage and safely dispose of all the E-waste you’ve collected over the years. Ask your friends and family to do the same. This will not only earn points for your house but you’ll also be supporting a great program in our local community and giving valuable resources a second life. Your old laptop could help people in an Indonesian village have lights, internet access and charge their phones.
