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Environment
A 'Chip' of the Old Block
by Naunidhi Kaur
Community
Environment Alliance (CEA), a Toronto-based not-for-profit organization
that works to educate people on environment protection and resource
conservation, has hit upon a novel solution for Canada's burgeoning
electronic waste (e-waste) problem. Under its Share-IT programme, people
who want a computer - but cannot afford to buy one - are given one free
of cost.
CEA refurbishes old computers - including computer monitors, printers,
scanners and other hardware - all of which would otherwise just add to
the country's burgeoning e-waste. The finished products are distributed
among those who need them: school children, families on government dole,
new immigrants and senior citizens.
In Toronto, it is not uncommon to find old PCs abandoned on kerbs,
placed near garbage bins by owners who have bought newer models. These
obsolete models are picked up by garbage trucks along with other trash.
Other old computers remain in basements and attics after being replaced
by newer, faster models. Eventually, most old PCs are transported to
landfills.
Environment Canada, the federal government ministry, estimates that in
2005 alone, Canadians would have thrown away 3.15 million obsolete
computers and servers, 3.2 million monitors and one million laptops.
This hi-tech trash will be transported to landfills in Asia and Africa,
where poor workers will manually hammer it open for the small quantity
of gold and copper inside.
There are no laws in Canada to prevent obsolete computers from reaching
landfills. Some provinces and corporations have started recycling, but
their efforts are too diffused and too wishy-washy to make a dent in the
e-waste being sent to developing countries. Legally, computer
manufacturers have no responsibility for old equipment.
It was a picture of a woman working in a landfill in India, hammering a
computer, that proved to be the starting point for CEA Executive
Director Ranjana Mitra. "The picture stayed with me. It completely
turned me off. I realised that people working in landfills in India,
China and Bangladesh are being exposed to toxins like lead, mercury and
cadmium, which can result in neurological and reproductive damage. I
started thinking, why do we dump these products and cause permanent
damages to future generations?"
Mitra migrated to Canada from India in 1998 with a degree in
architecture from Jadavpur University, Kolkata and a Masters degree in
city planning from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. To
pursue her interest in ecological planning, she opted for a second
Masters degree in Environment Management from the University of Toronto.
A computer monitor, when broken down, releases the toxic metals inside.
Typically, lead - which could damage the central nervous system, kidneys
and vascular systems - comprises 0.7 to 2.7 per cent of the total waste
from a monitor. It has 0.6 per cent arsenic, which could cause cancer
and damage the kidneys. The 0.05 per cent of mercury it contains could
damage the kidneys and impair the nervous system. These toxins could
also seep into the groundwater near landfills and affect large
populations.
This knowledge was the starting point for the Share-IT programme,
explains Mitra. This programme to reduce e-waste was started with a
three-year, US$2,19,000 grant from the provincial government's grant
giving agency, Ontario Trillium Foundation. Share-IT's mantra is that if
electronic products can be refurbished and reused, dumping and recycling
should not be options. The programme, started in 2003, is one of the six
programs CEA offers.
CEA's core mandate is to promote sustainability through education and
empowerment. Its six programs include a Sustainability Education
Program, Eco-Art in Action (to "create treasure out of trash"), Healthy
Community Initiative, Mobile Take Back Program (to reuse old mobile
phones), and Newcomers' Support Initiative (to help new immigrants).
Mitra found that sourcing computers in Toronto was no problem. As
repairing electronics is costlier than buying a new product, finding
individuals and corporations ready to donate their obsolete models is
easy.
She found that the average age of computer use in Canada is less than
two years. Says Mitra, "We also found a definite demand for computers.
School assignments need to be typed out on computers, and the public
library offers only half-an-hour of use. Getting a computer for the home
is a definite priority for families with children. Unfortunately, not
everyone can afford to buy a computer." Similarly, new immigrants need a
computer to find employment opportunities. Many of them cannot afford to
buy a computer.
Since August 2005, when the distribution of computers started, Share-IT
has utilised 10 tonnes of e-waste. In other words, 100 computers have
been distributed among the needy. Mitra's aim is to distribute 1,500
computers by the end of 2006.
The strength of the programme is that it links community needs with
environmental management and sustainable development. Mitra says,
"Environmental organisations are not connected with social organisations
in Toronto's NGO sector. I figured that this is where something could be
done. With Share-IT, my objective was to link ecological integrity,
social well-being and economic development."
Working from a modest warehouse situated in Toronto's South Asian
suburb, Brampton, Mitra and her team of two IT (information technology)
professionals and numerous volunteers try and ensure that the computers
they distribute are designed to last. Mitra says, "We make sure that the
computer has the software programs needed by the new user."
After a computer reaches Share-IT, an assessment takes place to see if
it can be upgraded and re-used. Once this is done, the necessary
hardware and software is installed. Mitra says, "We are a Microsoft-authorised
refurbishing agent. We try and make the end product perfect, because we
know the clients we serve do not have the means to buy and install new
software." People who need computers are referred to Share-IT by other
community organisations. But, of course, individuals can also approach
us directly."
Share-IT plans to focus on cell phones next. Mitra says: "Share-IT could
be a model emulated in other parts of the world. Initiatives like this
could do a lot to reduce e-waste globally."
January 15,
2005
By arrangement with
Women's Feature Service
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