50 million tons of e-waste is generate each year worldwide. You might be thinking what is e-waste, and why should I care? E-waste stands for Electronic waste and is dumped in landfills each year by millions of people. Landfills are being bombarded by toxic waste that can not be in our landfills. It is toxic to the air that we breathe and submits gases into the air. You should care because e-waste is ruining our planet, and the resources that we have. Recycling programs have taken place worldwide and are getting more popular by the day. There are 5 steps in which you can have responsible e-waste management in schools. Step 1: educating yourself and others about local, national, and international legislation. In California we have passed a Electronic Waste Recycling Act in 2003. This act requires that all retailers to collect a fee from consumers in covered electronic devices. These fees are then submitted and pay for recycling efforts within California. In February 2008 New York became the first U.S. city to pass a mandatory producer-responsibility act. In January 2008 nine states passed a "take-back" law that required manufacturers to collect and recycle e-waste. Internationally the European Union passed two Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) laws. Step 2: investigate recycling options from the companies that sell you equipment. Like Staples, where I work collects used equipment for a fee and then recycles it through a secondary source. Step 3: learn about shredding and sorting and how to certify that recycling is happening. Environmentalists and waste management experts are determining a secondary way for electronic equipment to be dismantled and then recovered elsewhere. This is a long process that will take years to perfect. Step 4: what others are doing. Look to see what your school is doing to help in recycling old or unused electronic devices. Be sure to look carefully due to state laws like in Iowa. In Iowa it is illegal to donate used equipment directly to charity. The item must go on sell, and be sold to the highest bidder, which can be a charity. Also, donating used equipment might appear to be donating to poorer families at the exclusion of a particular group of taxpayers. Making plans and looking into what your state allows and does not allow will keep your school out of trouble. Step 5: put together your plan for responsible e-waste management. Having a plan for recycling in your classroom is a great way for the students to get involved into recycling and what it means to our planet.
I thought that this article was a good way to see what is going on worldwide with recycling. At my work, Staples, we have a program that lets customers bring in their old monitors (free of charge), laptops, printers, speakers, mice, keyboards ($10 each), cell phones, batteries, and toner cartage's (free). I love how my work is helping the environment, and customers like it too. We get a ton of toner cartage's daily, as well as old printers. In my classroom I would set up a recycling bin for used paper, soda cans, and plastics that my students might have. Also, I would want to set up some sort of program where they can bring in their old ink cartage's to me and receive either extra credit or a small prize. I would then take the ink cartage's to a company like Staples and recycle them. At my work we have a Teachers Rewards program that lets teacher recycle 10 ink cartage's a month and receive $3 back on their rewards check. I would take my rewards check that I received for that month and use that to buy school supplies for my classroom as well as my students. I see it as a win-win situation. The students get extra credit or a prize for recycling and then I get supplies for them to use in the classroom. I think that showing students that recycling is fun that they will teach their parents and then they will start recycling at home. My ultimate goal is to be the best teacher I can be and giving my students the knowledge that they will need to make their futures brighter.
It's not coolness factor that counts, by Don Hall
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In this article, Don Hall talks about the emphasis on what is "cool," in
particular with technology. He says that there is too much focus on what's
cool, w...
14 years ago
I enjoyed reading your article, Alyssa. I agree that it is so important to not only recycle but to teach our students the importance or recycling to help our community as well as the planet. It is nice to hear about Staples recycling program. I have personally used the City of Oceanside's recycling drop off to bring old electronics and computer components. This is a great place to take old electronics as it is free to Oceanside residents. Good job Alyssa!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa,
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read your blog I didn't know what E-waste was, after reading your blog I not only know what it is but also feel that it's very important as well. This could easily be modeled in your classroom. Having your students involved with improving our environment would make them feel good about themselves. It also will allow them to broaden their horizon into seeing how a lot of things they don't think affect them really do. Good job Alyssa.