Electronic Recycling Fundraiser Going to Waste
The Education Foundation has discontinued the event in hopes of finding a more lucrative project
By Natalie Sarsfield and Ben Shiverdaker
The Education Foundation has discontinued the event in hopes of finding a more lucrative project
By Natalie Sarsfield and Ben Shiverdaker
Offering 16 volunteer spaces per event, the E-waste drive has been a staple Service Learning fundraiser since its founding.
On Saturday, Dec. 7, Service Learning put on their final E-waste drive. This will result in a loss of $900 per year on average of funding to the Foundation and a way for students to gain volunteer hours for their sophomore projects.
Service Learning teacher Mike Burrell spoke about the environmental benefits of the drive as well as the motivations behind the elective class sponsoring the event. According to Burrell, the main goal of the E-waste drive has always been the environmental contributions of the drive with community service opportunities for students and the monetary aspect as extra benefits.
“We run E-waste to raise funds for the foundation. A company comes in and collects. We just provide labor and they give us a percentage of the profit,” said Burrell. “In exchange, (the foundation) helps fund a lot of Service Learning events. (Electronic waste) prevents landfill waste and provides fundraising for the Pioneer foundation.”
As stated by fundraising chair Nancy Yem, the Education Foundation has previously partnered with First Choice Recycling, however due to lower turnout in the past couple of years and increased operating costs, the foundation has decided to cancel the event.
“This event will no longer be available for service learning hours unfortunately, but the Foundation team has been thinking of new ways to provide hours for the students,” said Yem. “Since service hours can’t happen during school hours we are always looking for activities outside school hours, but we need volunteers from both parents and students.”
Service Learning student Olivia Boe, 12, has volunteered at the E-waste drive for the past two years and is concerned about the environmental impact of improper disposal of electronic waste. For her sophomore project, she focused on land pollution and utilized the drive to complete her required hours.
“I started out being a volunteer. Last year I was the supervisor for Service Learning,” said Boe. “(The drive) helps the community because a lot of people don’t understand what electronic waste does to the land, it actually hurts it substantially. It helps clean the community and bring awareness to recycling.”
Taylor Kindel, 10, has chosen lack of environmental studies and pollution for her sophomore project. Kindel volunteers with Green Team and through her research, has found herself shocked by how widespread and how large of an issue pollution continues to be.
“There’s so much waste going into our environment and even just a small amount of trash that we pick up here. It’s crazy to think that the (drive) is closing. (Electronics) need to be recycled too,” said Kindel. “It’s so easy to recycle, the fact that people just throw it on the ground is still astounding to me.”
Moving forward without the drive, Boe and Service Learning as a whole hope for more conversation to continue about the importance of recycling.
“(We) will keep promoting recycling and strive for other people to keep recycling,” said Boe. “Since the drive is gone, at least we can still promote that you can donate to other places. Our school is not the only place you can donate and recycle your electronics.”
On Saturday, Dec. 7, Service Learning put on their final E-waste drive. This will result in a loss of $900 per year on average of funding to the Foundation and a way for students to gain volunteer hours for their sophomore projects.
Service Learning teacher Mike Burrell spoke about the environmental benefits of the drive as well as the motivations behind the elective class sponsoring the event. According to Burrell, the main goal of the E-waste drive has always been the environmental contributions of the drive with community service opportunities for students and the monetary aspect as extra benefits.
“We run E-waste to raise funds for the foundation. A company comes in and collects. We just provide labor and they give us a percentage of the profit,” said Burrell. “In exchange, (the foundation) helps fund a lot of Service Learning events. (Electronic waste) prevents landfill waste and provides fundraising for the Pioneer foundation.”
As stated by fundraising chair Nancy Yem, the Education Foundation has previously partnered with First Choice Recycling, however due to lower turnout in the past couple of years and increased operating costs, the foundation has decided to cancel the event.
“This event will no longer be available for service learning hours unfortunately, but the Foundation team has been thinking of new ways to provide hours for the students,” said Yem. “Since service hours can’t happen during school hours we are always looking for activities outside school hours, but we need volunteers from both parents and students.”
Service Learning student Olivia Boe, 12, has volunteered at the E-waste drive for the past two years and is concerned about the environmental impact of improper disposal of electronic waste. For her sophomore project, she focused on land pollution and utilized the drive to complete her required hours.
“I started out being a volunteer. Last year I was the supervisor for Service Learning,” said Boe. “(The drive) helps the community because a lot of people don’t understand what electronic waste does to the land, it actually hurts it substantially. It helps clean the community and bring awareness to recycling.”
Taylor Kindel, 10, has chosen lack of environmental studies and pollution for her sophomore project. Kindel volunteers with Green Team and through her research, has found herself shocked by how widespread and how large of an issue pollution continues to be.
“There’s so much waste going into our environment and even just a small amount of trash that we pick up here. It’s crazy to think that the (drive) is closing. (Electronics) need to be recycled too,” said Kindel. “It’s so easy to recycle, the fact that people just throw it on the ground is still astounding to me.”
Moving forward without the drive, Boe and Service Learning as a whole hope for more conversation to continue about the importance of recycling.
“(We) will keep promoting recycling and strive for other people to keep recycling,” said Boe. “Since the drive is gone, at least we can still promote that you can donate to other places. Our school is not the only place you can donate and recycle your electronics.”