Erase E-Waste!

Hey! It's Justin and Lexi. 

 

The Earth is experiencing unprecedented changes. The reason? Us. If we don't drastic measures to reduce human waste, our planet will inevitably suffer a fate that was the stories of science fiction just decades ago. So, we've decided to make changes - in a tangible way. 

 

Erasing E-Waste began as a small community initiative in August, 2017 before expanding as an organization at Staten Island Technical High School. We organized the annual Princes Bay E-Waste Drive with local electronics recyclers during the summers of 2017, 2018, and 2019, cumulatively recycling over 2 tons of e-waste.

 

During the summer of 2019, we worked also with the Staten Island Technical High School Summer Camp for elementary school and middle school aged-youth, developing a curriculum to foster awareness on e-waste. There, we launched a mini 'e-waste drive competition' with the students, collecting over 250 pounds of e-waste.

 

Right before on the onset of the pandemic, we facilitated New York City's first in school e-waste drive! Working with the Department of Sanitation, we mobilized a team of fifteen volunteers to oversee the e-waste collection process, ultimately collecting over 500 pounds of e-waste.

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During the pandemic, our recycling efforts were hindered (and for good reason)! However, it didn't stop us from tackling the e-waste crisis. Working with undergraduate students from Brown University, we developed a geo-spatial algorithm that uses crowdsourced data from weekly surveys sent to Staten Island residents to develop a cloropleth map. This map highlights areas in which e-waste recycling may be needed with a color gradient, thereby expediting the e-waste recycling process much faster. With the e-waste curbside pickup program sponsored by the Dept. of Sanitation of NYC shuttered due to budget cuts, many New Yorkers are left without accessible means of recycling e-waste. By working with third party organizations such as 4th Bin, we help address the e-waste crisis on a local level.

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We have worked with Shambhavi Shandilya, an e-waste activist from Bihar, India to help establish a universal e-waste recycling process in her state. Thus far, she has been able to obtain ministerial support for her platform, and get closer to our collective goal of erasing e-waste! 

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We have also worked with Jia Sun, a high school student from Vancouver, Canada, to establish an e-waste education campaign at her school.