Students, staff and families from GEMS schools have prevented two tonnes of e-waste from ending up in landfill sites in the UAE. The year-long campaign, which has now concluded, was created to raise awareness among students of the impact of digital waste.
In a city where many people choose to buy new devices instead of repair old ones. When electronic devices are dumped in landfills, toxic substances like lead and mercury can leak into the soil and water system.
On average, a UAE resident produces 17.2 kilogrammes of e-waste every year, driven by an increasing dependence on technology, with devices continuously and frequently upgraded for newer models. As a result, many households have multiple unused or defective devices at home that risk not being disposed of properly or safely. The campaign was designed to make safely disposing of e-waste easy and convenient and secure boxes were distributed to all participating schools. The team from Fixerman, who operate using solar-powered vans, collected the old gadgets (mobiles, laptops, monitors, computer items and batteries) and had them securely disposed of thanks to Clear Earth Recycling.
GEMS International School was the network’s e-waste saving supremos, collecting 3,069 kgs of e-waste.
Jassim Bangara, Fixerman Founder, said "We are delighted to have concluded a very impactful and productive e-waste campaign through GEMS Education. Our target was to collect one ton when we kick-started the campaign, but we have exceeded our target and collected 3,069 kg of e-waste. As a result of this campaign, we have successfully contributed to the reduction of raw material extraction from the earth of materials such as gold, copper and silver, reduced energy consumption as recycled materials generally consume less energy, and avoided harmful methane emissions; yet perhaps, most importantly, through this partnership, we helped students and families to become more conscious of their tech usage and the impact of e-waste. It gives me immense satisfaction to have been able to achieve this feat and we’d like to thank every school and community that contributed."