Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo - (Page 10)

Putting E-Waste in Its Place I was nine years old and in fifth grade when I began my journey into activism. I had learned about the Future Problem Solving Program’s Community Problem Solving competition, and I liked the idea of thinking of solutions and putting them into action. I talked to other students in the GT program to see if they wanted to form a team to put our ideas to work in the community. Six said yes, and the Westerly Innovations Network (WIN), named for our community of Westerly, Rhode Island, was born. In our first year, we worked on helping the Meals on Wheels program; in our second, we worked to raise public awareness of rabies prevention and encouraged people to spay and neuter their pets. The summer before our third year, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about electronic waste, or e-waste: discarded computers, cell phones, rechargeable batteries, and all other consumer electronics. All of these contain hazardous chemicals and heavy metals, such as lead and mercury. When these items are dumped, burned, or otherwise improperly disposed of, the chemicals leak into the environment, getting into crops, animals, water supplies—and people. Think about the recent toy recalls for tiny lead parts. Now consider this: each CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor contains four to eight pounds of lead. During their first recycling drive, the WIN team recycled their school system’s old computers, which had been stored in an unused bus. by Alex Lin I brought the article to my teammates, and they agreed that this was a problem we should target. We spent several weeks compiling information about the chemicals and their effects on humans, learning how to properly dispose of e-waste, and understanding how it should be recycled. To assess the specific conditions in our own town, we sent out a survey before we started any work. We found that only 12.8% of respondents knew what e-waste was, let alone how to properly dispose of it. One resident had rented a backhoe, dug a hole in his back yard, and dumped about 50 old Macs inside it. Another bought nine five-cubic-yard boxes of used electronics from a company going out of business, took the pieces he could use, and dumped the rest. Along with the surveys, we sent an application form for free refurbished computers. In our research, we’d learned that reusing is the best way to deal with used electronics: because of energy costs and resource consumption, reusing is seven times more efficient than recycling. If we could refurbish computers ourselves and distribute them to students who didn’t have a computer, we could help students in our area while preserving the environment. Bring in the Junk The next step in our project was to find a way to properly recycle what we couldn’t refurbish. I say 10 imagine March/April 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo

Imagine Magazine - March/April 2008 Contents Letters Big Problems Big Picture In My Own Words Putting E-Waste in Its Place Big Juice Making Waves What Does "Green" Mean? Into the Woods Swimming with Whale Sharks Crash Course in Costa Rica Selected Opportunities & Resources Hooked on Logistics Off the Shelf Word Wise Middle Ground One Step Ahead Exploring Career Options Planning Ahead for College Students Review Creative Minds Imagine Sudoku Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo

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