In order to help the environment in Canada, the Electronic Stewardship Program was created. It is the answer to helping keep all things electronic out of the landfills and hopefully, reuse them again so that others less fortunate might be able to enjoy them in their second ‘life’. Through this series, about 44 products are qualified for a change from what they are presently to what would benefit someone else and not a landfill. The organization is all about recycling, reusing and refurbishing most things electronic including but not limited to computers, electronic video games and many other styles of appliances that would eventually take up space in a landfill but are now being saved for other to use.
This organization took a two prong method in creating the near perfect balance of taking unwanted electronic and electrical items out of the hands of those who didn’t want them and putting them into the hands of those who could refurbish or recycle them into something usable. The beginning of the program started in April of 2009 and the second tier of the plan premiered in April 2010. All issues pertaining to electronics of a particular kind were addressed in the first push. These were items such as computers and all their accessories such as mice, keyboards and printers, fax machines and monitors. There were also accepting televisions. The second tier roll out was organized to gather electronics such as telephones, cell phones and amplifiers, equalizers and video recorders and radios.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment program and plan (WEEE) falls under the waste diversion act which means that some electronic equipment will be diverted from the landfills into usable resources. Refurbishing old computers so they are almost like new is one way to help the environment and keep the computers out of the landfills. Once they have been refurbished, they could be reused in schools or prisons or places that have a hard time finding the funding to purchase new computers.
A couple of the leading consumer electronic companies, information technology and consumer electronics equipment companies and retail outlets gathered together to form this non-for-profit organization. In this organization it is the first importer, franchise owners, brand owners and assemblers that each will pay a fee for the electronic and electrical equipment, EEE, issued through Canada. When the fees are received, they are then used by the organization to operate the WEEE’s program to continue to help with the recycling and reuse program.
Over the entire Ontario region, there seems to be approximately 91,000 tons of electrical equipment which includes computers and other devices like radios, all available for reuse or recycling. The WEEE program is the first of its kind and before it was established; only about one-quarter was managed properly. This means that electronic equipment was not recycled and it was going into the landfills. There are a few electrical pieces that are not harmful and then there are those electronics that could contain a mixture of lead, mercury and cadmium. If these things are not disposed of properly, they could become a hazard to people and the environment.
The WEEE program takes care of the electrical and electronic equipment, the EEE, and the chosen plan that a participant will enter into will have some responsibility for a payment to the WEEE. In addition, all the fees, 100 percent of them, will go to the WEEE from the Stewards, which is what the companies who join the organization are called. There is an application and interview process to make sure a company will take the terms and conditions seriously in helping to preserve the environment.
Once a Steward is accepted into the program, they send in a monthly report that states the extent of the EEE’s they have reused, refurbished and recycled back into the community. This report is but one portion of the agreement between the Stewards and the WEEE program. The companies and businesses must agree to all conditions and terms before they are able to help with the environmental projects.
The Electronic Stewardship Program is Canada’s special recycling plan to help lower landfill items. It also helps those less fortunate in that they receive these refurbished and recycled items either free or very low cost. This program has proven in it short existence to be a win-win situation for many people: the venders and manufacturers and the community who benefits from their efforts.
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