Did you know that globally last year, the total amount of electronic waste reached 44.7 million tonnes and only approximately 20 per cent was recycled? With such rapid advances in technology and endless new innovative products released every year, electronic waste will quickly become one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world.
On Sunday of Waste Reduction Week, join the conversation! Less waste can be produced through circular approaches to product design, business models, and procurement. Circularity can be built into products right at the design phase, ensuring they can be repaired, re-used, recycled or returned - keeping them out of landfill, and keeping our resources in the ground.
The Electronics Lifecycle
image: e-stewards.org
Organize a collection event
A majority of households have old electronics kicking around. As Canadian municipalities do not offer curbside e-waste collection, many residents rely on collection events for proper management of these materials. That’s why on Sunday of Waste Reduction Week (or throughout the week!) we encourage organizations, schools, and municipalities to host an e-waste collection event for reuse and/or responsible recycling.
Key messaging for E-Waste Sunday
- Purchase refurbished electronics instead of purchasing
- Repair broken electronics whenever possible
- Refurbish or recycle electronics instead of landfilling them.
- Creating innovative approaches to product design
