A SocialBox.Biz briefing update by Heather ( Updated June 17 2021 ) – Reports on why local solutions such as SocialBox.Biz local reuse and donating is a better option before recycling everything.
Current e-waste recycling solutions are just exporting the problem — Prof Richard Herrington, Head of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum in London.
Stop! Are you considering recycling your old tech? While recycling is a noble cause, the truth of the matter is that you can give back to your community right here when you participate on an ongoing basis in the SocialBox.Biz Laptops for Homeless and Disadvantaged initiative. You’re also doing amazing things for the environment, local community whilst building and maintaining your ESG and meeting Civic Duties with ongoing participation. It’s a win-win-win…! SocialBox.Biz experts can also advise on the best routes as often no all your old items need recycling and mane can still be useful – please make SocialBox.Biz your first point of call TODAY. Call us first to donate usable items, you can still recycle other items and it will not affect any recycling ‘contracts’ already in place. We provide secure on-site data removal solutions too. On-site is always the most secure. We can also send boxes for you to collect suitable items for donation so that the scrap companies do not get their hands on it.
E-waste is a MAJOR problem in every developed nation, as tech components fill up landfills. Recycling has shown to lend to e-waste, which is why LOCAL donation is being advocated for here at SocialBox.BIz and by other top industry experts.
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-ewaste-and-what-can-we-do-about-it.html
Companies are coming under fire for not tackling the issue of e-waste. Statistics show that UKs e-waste is actually sent overseas, where there’s a scrap market for it, but oftentimes on top of that, this is also done illegally. In one tragic instance, old electronics are actually poisoning people at a toxic dump in Ghana. The UK is among the worst statistically for these practices, underscoring the need for a change.
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/ghana-ewaste-dump-electronics
Electronic Waste and the Circular Economy – report extract: 121.The precious metals contained in a tonne of E-waste (in particular in PCBs) can often be far higher than the equivalent in a tonne of directly mined ore which means that ‘urban mining’ of E-waste is quickly becoming more cost-effective than virgin mining at those sites outside the UK that have the size and technology to extract them.298 In fact, because old E-waste contains more materials than lighter modern electronics, Europe could theoretically source most of the materials it needs for new electronics from old E-waste.299 The UK is therefore sending valuable and precious materials overseas for recycling and missing an economic opportunity from the high amount of electronic waste this country creates compared to others.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmselect/cmenvaud/220/22008.htm
When you recycle old tech, it’s not enough. We’re seeing this as not only a problem here in the UK, but an issue that plagues the world. Waste is a problem for everyone. The good news, however, is that it’s not too late to turn things around. With your help, we can make a difference in the lives of those in need right here while also doing our part to preserve the environment. Upgrading and reusing tech is a valuable model that’s being proven right here and around the world – please contact us TODAY so that we can work with your team to setup a reuse and donation program and reduce this problem.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/waste/sri-lanka-is-not-anybody-s-dumping-ground-74102
And when we pioneer this mission, we are an inspiration for others. For instance, in India, tech waste is a major issue just as it is here. Could we inspire change elsewhere?
If you’d like to learn more about how to start making an impact in your community by donating your old tech, reach out to our team today!
SocialBox.Biz and our long-standing initiative has been providing a solution for many years and is inviting additional companies and organisations such as schools, councils, colleges and universities to participate on an ongoing basis with all of the old, no longer needed, yet still useful items. Laptops for Homeless, Refugees, and Older People in isolation initiative from SocialBox.Biz Community Interest Company is helping organisations meet sustainability and impact goals.
Named as “Hero innovators and change makers in 2021,” by The Independent newspaper as a testament to their Laptops for the Homeless, Elderly and Refugees Initiative, SocialBox.Biz is proving what’s possible when companies and organizations come together to better society.
June 17 2021 – Update
This week The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said more than 18 million children and adolescents globally are being exposed to toxic e-waste. First WHO report on e-waste and child health calls for more effective and binding action to protect children from growing health threat:
https://www.who.int/news/item/15-06-2021-soaring-e-waste-affects-the-health-of-millions-of-children-who-warns
Currently, e-waste from schools and other large IT user organisations is sent overseas as there are no UK refinery facilities.
Children in poor countries overwhelmed by ‘tsunami’ of electronic waste – mostly dumped by richer countries: ( Reported in the Daily Telegraph London, June 15, 2021 )
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/children-poor-countries-overwhelmed-tsunami-electronic-waste/
Our locally focused long-standing tech donation initiative from SocialBox.Biz is helping organisations get away from this problem of exporting e-waste before it even becomes waste. Our initiative does not require changing any current recycling arrangements as we are ensuring items that are still useful are not wasted and recycled by upgrading them with open source software and tech innovation. Please contact us TODAY.
SocialBox.Biz
SocialBox.Biz is making forward advance in digital inclusion manifesto with ongoing participation from partners.
Our goal is to reach additional businesses and the public sector as well. There are thousands of computers in the public sector that are no longer being used. By upgrading these computers, we can not only reduce the energy footprint that recycling creates, but put these computers into the hands of those that need them most. We are looking for additional organisations, colleges and universities to think about the no longer needed but still usable technology and help us reach our goal of getting these to those most in need in the UK.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support. Please help us and share this message with your supplier and partners and colleagues.
Businesses have been actively releasing old but still usable tech and promoting our initiative to the business community, and via our long-standing initiative items have gone to provide assistance for people living in homeless shelters, low-income senior housing, and other working with disadvantaged local people especially during this challenging times.
Read more from our latest post:
There are also thousands of computers others sectors that are no longer being used, we can help get those computers into the hands of the thousands of people across the UK who would greatly benefit from the technology. We encourage all organisations to reach our to our team and consider participating in our initiative on an ongoing basis with their old but still usable items on an ongoing basis. Other items can still be recycled in the normal way so there is no need to change existing contracts that you have in place. Please call us before you call the scrap companies to help those in need and boost your sustainability efforts at the same time.
One donated laptop can go a long way. That’s why we are working to partner with corporations, institutions, and groups that are willing to release their old unneeded but still usable tech to us. Our team at SocialBox.Biz wipes it clean, upgrades it with open source software, re-homing suitable items. We need your help – SocialBox.Biz Laptops for the Homeless, Refugees and Older people Initiative has overseen the reuse and donation of thousands of tech items including laptops to date in London and across the UK. We hope you find inspiration in what we have been doing for years and the countless case studies on our website. If you or someone at your team is able to work with us on sourcing old but still usable items, please reach out today.
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