Interview: Candace Le Roy, SFU Sustainability Coordinator

On March 14^th a few members from our campaign team met with Candace Le Roy, SFU’s sustainability coordinator, to interview her about making SFU an e-waste free zone. The University is and has been a leader in core energy reduction and conservation for many years. Candace’s position focuses on what SFU is doing to continually maintain their ecological footprint, she says, “we want to be able to walk the talk”.

Currently, SFU does not have any policy put into place clearly stating that it is a waste free zone. However, she does say that SFU feels strongly about keeping waste in Canada and doing everything in their power to not send any electronic waste overseas. Candace was unsure as to where exactly the university’s electronic waste was being sent at this time, but suggested we speak to Lawrence Real, who is in charge of SFU’s custodial services. She felt that he would be able to help our campaign work out certain details such as, how our e-waste drop-box program would be run, and who could help to run it.

In response to our question, “what do you think of our campaigns idea to implement a free, and permanent drop-off location on campus for e-waste?” Candace stated that she felt having an e-waste drop-box at the school was a resourceful idea, one that wouldn’t be too difficult to implement. She also said that SFU students seemed keen about the topic of waste, as 99% of the e-mails that go through her department are usually waste related. It is a very prevalent topic and she felt as long as we were passionate about putting an end to SFU’s e-waste, our schools administration should respond positively. The integrative work between students and the administration is important and it is what pushes our institution to cross boundaries.

Our team was curious to know what the next steps were in creating our policy. She suggested, to make sure we have done our research and figured out any constraints that might be standing in our way. From there we can then move forward or around the issues in order to succeed in reaching our goals. It mainly comes down to, she says, “can the university afford it?”

Candace told our group members that our campaign and interview with her had come at a good time. In April, SFU is having a zero waste committee meeting, where a discussion will take place based on creating a waste policy for the university. Topics of zero waste initiatives, reduction of disposals, and an implementation of the plans to conquer this issue will be discussed.

We hope to attend this meeting in order to have our student voices heard and possibly further the process of our campaign and policy.

We thank Candace for her time and helpful insight!

Reboot Vancouver

Reboot - 879 East Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C.

Reboot Vancouver is a non-profit organization that aims to reduce e-waste by focusing on the refurbishment of computers. Having spoken to the coordinator of Reboot, Stuart McFarlene, we are glad to hear that there is another local non-profit community organisation, similar to Free Geek, that acts responsibly and ethically in the recycling of e-waste. Reboot tries their best to re-furbish what they can, and all other computer parts that are un-useable are sent to Free Geek and Encorp.

For those seeking to purchase a new computer or laptop, one might want to consider buying a re-furbished one from Reboot. This will contribute to the cycle of 'ethical recycling' and not towards consumerism. Their prices are not only aaffordable but they also provide computer services at a lower cost opposed to larger corporations, such as Best Buy and Future Shop. All profits that Reboot collect are put directly back into helping the community, by supplying re-furbished computers to low income families, schools, and other non-profit organizations. 

In regards to recycling hard-drives and computers, many are often worried about the their history and personal material on them. According to Stuart, privacy should not be a worrisome issue, especially because methods have been acquired and approved by the Department of Defense which reduce the chances of people's information being   tampered with.

Many believe that the Canadian government needs to step-in and take further action by implementing harsher measures on the issue of e-waste being sent to third world countries. Stuart suggests that what is most important is that ethical and responsible recycling systems need to be established not only in Canada but also in these developing nations. 

We would also like to thank Reboot for their contributions of pamphlets and posters that were handed out and put on display at our E-waste Day @ SFU. For information please visit their website http://www.rebootvancouver.ca/

E-Waste Day was a big hit!

Our big day came and went and we couldn’t be happier with the results! Thanks to everyone who came out to support us!

Here’s what we achieved on March 14^th:

We accepted various laptops, computers and printers, dozens of cell phones, a giant bucket of batteries, a box of ink cartridges, cameras, cords and cables in every size and shape imaginable, a couple of TVs (yes, people did bring TVs all the way to the campus!) and lots of other electronics. All of these electronics are saved from being sent overseas!

We have over 400 signatures on our petition for a free, permanent drop-off location on campus! This petition will be given to SFU’s president Andrew Petter, along with a letter explaining our project, and our proposed policy for SFU.

We handed out green ribbons that people wore to promote our e-waste day.

We made a “pledge wall” of paper hands, on which students signed their name, pledging that they will recycle their electronics ethically.

At our E-Waste Day, we loved talking to students and learning what they believe, and what they care about. We had several questions about what “ethical recycling” really means for us. This is a good question because the word “ethical” gets thrown around a lot, and unfortunately, without much thought behind it.

Here’s what we mean when we say “ethical recycling”:

We believe it is ethical to take apart e-waste in Canada, not overseas in developing countries. Workers in developing countries don’t have the same safety equipment and laws as we have in Canada. Thus, the workers are exposed to deadly chemicals every day, poisoning themselves and their environment. They also often use young children as workers. We believe that child labour is unethical. Instead, we have researched recycling organizations and their entire downstream and we are confident to say that the organization we have chosen (Free Geek) will not send their materials overseas. We believe it is unethical to ship our problems out of sight, where they become a greater problem for others.

The most important thing that we learned at our event is that SFU students want a drop-off location for their electronics on campus, and they will take advantage of this resource. We had an overwhelmingly positive response to this idea. Students know that electronics shouldn’t be thrown out. Most people we spoke to had collections of e-waste in their homes, and are waiting to figure out what to do with it.

That’s why we believe that the key at this stage in the campaign is education and promotion. People want to do the right thing, but most of the time we don’t know what the right thing is. We need to help out people by providing them with a resource they can easily use, and we believe that we a proper marketing campaign would spread the word about the resource, so students know they can use it. We were pleasantly surprised at the number of people who knew about our event and brought things. Even though we had few resources and little time, our article in the Peak, our posters, and our Facebook page and blog seem to have made a difference already.

Thanks again to everyone who came out to donate, say hi, and sign our petition. Together, we can make this happen!

SFU E-Waste Campaign in the Media: The Georgia Straight

SFU E-Waste Campaign in the Media: The Georgia Straight

Two articles in one week? Yes, it’s true. The Vancouver free weekly newspaper has published an online article about the problems with e-waste and what our group is doing here at SFU.

Check it out here: Georgia Straight Article

Keep posted for more media coverage of our campaign!

SFU E-Waste Campaign in the Media: The Peak

Our second piece of media coverage was published this week: we managed to snag the feature spread and the front cover of SFU’s student newspaper The Peak.

If you’re a student, pick up a copy at any campus. Otherwise check it out online here: The Peak article

This is great news, as all of us at the SFU E-Waste Campaign group are hard at work getting ready for E-Waste Day on March 14^th in the AQ. Bring all your old electronics!  

E-Waste Day

7 days until our event!

Our whole team will be at SFU Burnaby from 9am-5pm.
Come by to learn more about e-waste and sign our petition.

Please bring any old and un-used electronics you may have that we can help ethically recycle.

Interview with Dan Haves from "Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground"

On February 21^st, we were delighted to sit down with Dan Haves, one of the UBC graduate students who made the 2009 documentary Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground, later broadcasted on PBS. The Emmy-winning documentary explores e-waste in three different countries: Ghana, India and China. The students travelled to these countries, where they spoke with the workers, obtained shocking footage, and uncovered some disheartening problems. To watch the documentary, click here. 

In our interview, Dan discussed many issues that both enlightened us about our project, and put the problems of e-waste in a new light. Here are some things we learned:

1.  China, Ghana and India are all involved in the e-waste trade, but do so in different ways.

In China, for example, women are the main workers. They sit individually at burners, “cooking circuit boards” and breathing in the toxins. In Ghana, on the other hand, children are the primary victims. They often burn Styrofoam in massive bonfires. Compared to the other countries, the barriers in Ghana are much less obtrusive, meaning that e-waste is more visible to anyone visiting.

2.   There are many parties who bear responsibility for the problems.

Us, in the developed world are not without blame. The amount of electronics consumed and discarded cause the bulk of the problem. The governments of these developed countries are also responsible for the problem, by allowing the e-waste to be sent overseas illegally. Dan also includes the Port of Vancouver, arguing that they know where the shipments are heading. Finally, the governments of the developing countries should protect their citizens, and ban the import of e-waste.

3.   Simply stopping the export of e-waste to developing countries won’t solve the problem.

Dan explained to us that in some of the cities they visited while making the film, e-waste trade is their only economy and source of income. This is not an excuse or a justification for sending e-waste overseas. It is simply a reminder of how complex and multifaceted the problem is. We must look for better alternatives for the people in these countries to support themselves.  

4.   A major issue involving e-waste is privacy.

Dan and his fellow students learned that although a hard drive can appear to be erased, it still stores information that can be revealed when taking it apart. Top-secret documents, banking information and personal photos can all be easily uncovered. In fact, Ghana is a major site of cyber-crime. The only way to truly wipe the information from a hard drive is to physically destroy it, which ruins its capability to be recycled.

When we asked Dan what we can do here to help the situation, he explained that consumers need to research recycling organizations when donating their electronics. They should be able to tell you exactly where everything goes, and what is done with every piece. His number one piece of advice is to ask questions!

Dan also commented on e-waste policies of universities. He said that the policies should be clear and transparent to everyone. Universities should do extensive research before choosing a recycling organization, and ensure that privacy issues are well taken care of, as university computers hold extensive personal information from students.