GEMS Education schools and Fixerman have shared that following a year-long campaign, students, staff, and families from GEMS schools have helped to divert over three tonnes of e-waste from landfill sites in the UAE.
In a region where many choose to buy new devices instead of repairing old ones, the year-long campaign was created to raise awareness about the impact of digital waste among students.
Indeed, on average, a UAE resident produces 17.2 kgs of electronic waste every year. Moreover, when electronic devices are dumped in landfills, toxic substances can leak into the soil and water systems.
The campaign was designed to make the safe disposal of e-waste easy and convenient. Secure boxes were distributed to all participating schools, with the Fixerman team, who travelled via solar-powered vans, collecting the old gadgets and securely disposing of them with the help of Clear Earth Recycling. GEMS International School collected 3,069 kgs of e-waste.
Jassim Bangara, Fixerman’s Founder, commented: “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,” Bangara added.