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Toronto student learns that when it comes to recycling electronics, What’s Inside Counts

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Recoverable resources count:

Many of the resources inside our electronics, including plastic, glass, gold, silver and copper can be reused continuously without losing their properties. By recycling electronics, resources are recovered, recycled and reused — reducing our overall carbon footprint and lessening our dependence on mining for new resources. Recycling with EPRA/Recycle My Electronics programs also diverts e-waste from illegal export and Canadian landfills.

Safety and security counts:

Responsible recycling ensures the safe and secure destruction of personal data stored on hardware. We all have important information stored on our devices, and the security of our personal data is an increasing concern. When you drop off electronics to an EPRA/ Recycle My Electronics drop-off point, devices are quickly processed, shredded and recycled into small particles so that they can be put back into the manufacturing supply chain.

Accessibility counts:

EPRA/Recycle My Electronics programs have a vast network of over 2,500 collection locations across Canada consisting of return-to-retail locations and authorized drop-off points. EPRA/ Recycle My Electronics is committed to recycling end-of-life electronics in a responsible manner. In fact, there’s a drop-off location within 30 minutes of most Canadians.

Collection and learning count:

When grade five student, Henry, was looking for a fun way to have a positive impact on the environment, he decided to organize an e-waste collection event at his school, Kingsway College in Toronto. By partnering with EPRA/Recycle My Electronics to host the collection event at his school, Henry found all the resources he needed to organize the event by connecting with the EPRA/Recycle My Electronics team and visiting the online learning hub recycleMYelectronics.ca/learning an interactive online resource centre created for students, educators and parents.

By partnering with EPRA/Recycle My Electronics to host the collection event at his school, Henry found all the resources he needed to organize the event by connecting with the EPRA/Recycle My Electronics team and visiting the online learning hub recycleMYelectronics.ca/learning an interactive online resource centre created for students, educators and parents. The Recycle My Electronics Learning Hub was designed help communities learn about the importance of electronics recycling through videos, interactive games, quizzes, articles and other resources. “It was very easy because the website was easy to find and it had sections for how to get in contact, how to wipe your devices,” Henry said, adding,

“Once I got in contact with one of EPRA’s workers I asked them a few questions, organized a date and then the bins got dropped off at the school and now we have added electronics for recycling to them.”

When asked about Henry’s motivation in organizing an electronics recycling event teacher Shelley Gaudet said, “Kids are really impassioned about climate change and making a difference with the environment. We didn’t make Henry do this project, he brought it to us. You don’t have to wait for someone to tell you you’re a leader, you can just step up and do it.”

As the industry-led not-for-profit organization that oversees electronics recycling throughout Canada, Recycle My Electronics was the perfect partner to help Henry and his community raise funds and collect end-of-life electronics. In fact, over the past five years Recycle My Electronics has organized and hosted 2,764 Community Collection Events.

When asked about the importance of event like this and electronics recycling overall, EPRA/Recycle My Electronics President and CEO Cliff Hacking said “The future is really in the hands of the new generation. One of the things that we want to ensure is that they take on this responsibility and understand the impact they have on the environment and act in a socially responsible way. Henry has done an amazing job hosting this collection event, raising awareness about responsible electronics recycling, and making a direct and positive impact on the environment.”

To find out what and where to recycle, or to learn how you can host a collection event for your school or community visit: recycleMYelectronics.ca