Electronics Recycling
Many people have old, broken or unused electronics and appliances that they don’t need and also can’t throw away in the regular garbage. Some of these can be re-used. Others need to be discarded through specific channels that may not be easy to access in regular local garbage pickup. Learn more about this important issue and help your community create an educate campaign and waste management program for recycling or disposing of old appliances and electronics.
How do I get started? Download Stand Out From The Pack - Campaign to learn more about where to begin. Learn more about the issue and, in particular, how electronics and appliances are discarded and recycled in your community. Find out whether local charities need gently used but still operational equipment. Contact community leaders and your sanitation department to learn more. And gather a team to launch your campaign.
How do I expand this narrative arc? Building on the success of your project you should consider one or more of the many other urban interventions. For example:
Help your community develop a comprehensive Recycling Strategy and Plan.
Launch a White Roof Project in which community buildings with dark roofs are repainted with white elastomeric paint that reflects rather than absorbs heat.
Start a Tinker Club at your school where mechanically-inclined teens can play around with, fix and rebuild used electronics.
If you live in a dry climate, launch a Xeri-scaping awareness campaign to promote the use of drought-resistant plants in landscaping.
If you live in an urban area (or one that has issues environmental contamination), Save the Earth with Sunflowers (which draw heavy metals from the soil).
Promote energy conservation through Ecolympics.
HOT TIP: Tinkering with electronics is something that kids rarely do these days. Think about whether there are categories of electronics or small appliances (think: toasters, clocks, printers, computers, used toys like remote control cars and more) that you could collect as part of the launch of a tinkering program at your school. It’s an amazing opportunity for you to up-cycle community waste for a good cause while simultaneously introducing a really fun and educational program at your school.