Date : Saturday 9th November 2024 Time: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Venue : The Car Park at Lorainne The Gardens Shopping Centre (opposite the Pick'n Pay Family The Gardens Entrance)
Items you can contribute:
What are the aims of our e-waste campaign?
The primary goal of our website is to increase public awareness about environmental issues. Our current campaign focuses on encouraging the proper disposal of damaged, old, non-functional, or unwanted electronic devices. It is crucial to emphasize that discarding e-waste in regular trash bins leads to these items occupying space in landfills. Soil contamination poses a significant risk when e-waste is not disposed of correctly, as many electronic devices contain harmful substances such as lead, cadmium, and mercury. When these materials accumulate in landfills, they can seep into the ground, contaminating water sources, air, soil, and ecosystems. Furthermore, improper e-waste disposal consumes valuable landfill space, a problem that recycling efforts can help mitigate.
In South Africa, manufacturers are now responsible for managing the end-of-life of their products under new regulations effective from 5 November 2021. Electronic waste must be recycled by authorised facilities and cannot be disposed of in landfills, in compliance with the National Environmental Management: Waste Act.
Results of our E-waste Campaign
Promotion
We reached out to The Herald and PE Express in hopes of promoting our campaign. Although PE Express did not respond, The Herald acknowledged our request and informed us that they had passed on our information to the environmental reporter. It appears that they were preoccupied with more compelling stories to cover. Fortunately, AlgoaFM showed a more favorable response by permitting us to share our campaign on their Events Page.
We distributed 600 flyers by hand outside our partner store, Pick n Pay Family The Gardens, on Saturday, November 2nd and Wednesday, the 6th. The effort received only minimal backing from the Pick n Pay clientele.
The event was advertised on our website, and we were delighted to see some of our followers bringing e-waste to show their support. The most successful promotion, though, was on Facebook. Information was distributed in the public groups Lorraine My Neighborhood, Friends of Kabega, and Friends of Lorraine & Kamma Park, attracting numerous recyclers from these groups.
On the day of the collection
Before 8 a.m., we were prepared in the parking lot, and the initial two recyclers showed up promptly at 8 a.m. Following that, a brief rain shower happened, leading us to doubt our choice to organize an e-waste collection event.
Once the rain lifted, recyclers visited our campaign at regular intervals.
Throughout the e-waste collection, a continuous flow of recyclers visited us in the subsequent hours. The majority of the recyclable items on our list were delivered, and we were delighted by the enthusiastic response to our campaign.
The day concluded as PE Metals & E-Waste Recyclers gathered two loads of electronic waste for recycling.
Overview:
Do you consider our campaign successful? According to Wise Owl Lifestyle, the campaign was indeed a success. We were able to emphasize the significance of properly disposing of e-waste, thereby preventing these items from being dumped in landfills and harming our environment.
Following a few restless nights filled with uncertainty regarding the support for our campaign, we were delighted by the number of recyclers who showed up on the day. We were able successfully recycle more than 300kg of e-waste. Our focus now shifts to organising a second campaign in another location in Port Elizabeth, scheduled for late January next year.
At this point we would like to thank our partners in this campaign:
Dean the manager at the Lorraine, The Gardens Pick n Pay Family Store for giving us permission to hold the e-waste collection at the Lorraine The Gardens Shopping Center parking lot,
Megan at PE Metals & E-Waste Recyckers for fetching and recycling the e-waste collected,
It is crucial to bear in mind that recycling e-waste is the appropriate method when handling damaged, old, or outdated electronic devices. Nevertheless, if the item is still functional or can be repaired affordably, reusing it should be the first consideration before opting for recycling. This point was highlighted when a cellphone started ringing among our collection of e-waste.
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
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