About SCLF

STOP COMPUTER LAND FILL SOCIETY INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE - MARCH, 2004

The Stop Computer Land Fill Society was formed in February 2004, by a group of citizens concerned about toxic waste from electronic products being unnecessarily disposed of in local landfills.  The growing trend to bury electronic waste rather than recycling it, fueled by rocketing obsolescence rates, increases the risk of pollution from e-waste toxins from our landfills.

An initial attempt made by a local businessman to recycle electronics on a for-profit basis determined that:

1. there is a strong demand for computer recycling services in the Okanagan;

2. existing businesses identifying themselves computer recycling services re-use only a small portion of the computer, while disposing of the bulk of the waste in the landfill;

3. recycling e-waste in an environmentally responsible manner can be done effectively, resulting in very little waste, especially if there is interest in ongoing procedural innovations;

4. consumers are generally unwilling to pay  fees for pickup of electronics, even when they prefer to recycle the item rather than disposing of it in the landfill;

5. providing an effective electronic recycling service on a for-profit basis is not feasible; however

6. many individual and corporate citizens are concerned about pollution from the toxins in e-waste, and would be willing to support a program for responsibly recycling these items, particularly if charitable donation receipts would be issued; and

7. grants and support for this environmental service are available from various sources, providing that the society has registered charity status.

The purposes of the Stop Computer Land Fill Society is to protect the environment by:

1. Facilitating and promoting the reduction, recycling and recovery of hazardous electronic materials.

2. Educating the public about the danger of electronic waste.

3. Carrying out research on potential solutions for electronic waste pollution and by disseminating those solutions to the public.

The programs and activities established by the for-profit enterprise that work towards these stated goals will be continued by the society.

To promote recycling of electronic waste, an community education program is underway.  Our speaker is in demand for presentations to schools, businesses and organizations.  Articles in the local media provide information to the general public.  Educational brochures have been printed and are regularly distributed to likely sources of electronic waste, and are followed up with phone calls and visits.  The focus of the educational program is to inform the public about the effectiveness of recycling e-waste, to explain the danger to our environment of allowing toxic e-waste pollutants to end up in our landfill, and to encourage recycling electronic waste in the Okanagan.

Research and development for more efficient and effective methods for recycling electronic waste is ongoing.  This will benefit residents of the Okanagan by making the society's recycling program less expensive to run, with less waste in the landfill.  Additionally, improvements made by our society will be shared with recyclers throughout the world.  Areas where improvements can be made are in transportation of products, dismantling computer systems into individual components, and finding ways to re-use components.  Through research and testing of ideas, successful innovations have been made in transportation and break-down methods, and will continue to be pursued.   

Local community and educational organizations that were identified as potential re-users of individual components were approached and have successfully re-used components, indicating a good potential for this area of recycling e-waste.  Some systems where rebuilt using scrapped materials, and donated to charities and people with disabilities.  A local high-school saves a considerable amount of money by using recycled components rather than purchasing new ones for their electronics classes.   For charities and educational institutions, these recycled components are provided at no charge.

The electronic waste recycling services established by the for-profit entity include providing convenient drop-off locations where consumers can leave their unwanted electronics.  Pickup service is also available for businesses and government organizations, and  recyclers that do not provide a thorough recycling service.  Making recycling convenient prevents more e-waste from entering the landfill, which benefits everyone in the Okanagan.

It has been shown that a user-pay program for recycling unwanted electronic items is not workable. Selling the plastics and metals is dependant on free market commodity prices, and will not cover the costs of collecting, separating and containing them.   In the interests of protecting our environment, the community will need to get involved financially in this program.  Funding for this recycling program must be raised through donations and grants.

A fund-raising program will be established, whereby potential donors are approached through a direct mail campaign and personal visits.   Donors will include local businesses, individuals and service organizations.  Grants will be applied for, to enable hiring summer students, to fund start-up costs, and to fund research and development.   High schools will be approached for student labour via work-experience programs.