Toronto ON – After 72 days on the road covering nearly 4,000 kilometres and seeing a grand total of 7,505 vehicles in 14 cities across the province, the Ontario Electronic Stewardship’s mobile electronics recycling centre has concluded its fall tour with resounding success.
On Oct. 2, 2010 The Ontario Electronic Stewardship’s mobile electronics recycling centre visited Cornwall as one of 14 scheduled stops on its province-wide electronics recycling tour.
OES is pleased to report that on this day, more than 12 tonnes of electronic waste were collected from Cornwall residents for safe and secure recycling. This means that the equivalent of 1.5 tractor-trailers full of e-waste was successfully diverted from Ontario landfill.
The mobile centre visited all scheduled stops between Sept. 11 and Nov. 21, with the goal of helping Ontarians change their habits and think about their old, unwanted electronic items in the same way they think about bottles, cans and paper. The centre provided educational information and fun activities, as well as a convenient drop-off point for residents and businesses to recycle their waste electronics.
“Most Ontarians wouldn’t mix their cans and bottles in with their garbage – they know that type of waste needs to be treated differently,” said Carol Hochu, Executive Director of Ontario Electronic Stewardship. “When it comes to electronics, though, that behavior isn’t second nature just yet. That’s why we took our message on the road this fall with the mobile recycling initiative.”
The tour helped bring in a total of approximately 333 tonnes of waste electronics during its quest to motivate Ontario residents and businesses to learn more about electronics recycling. Supported by advertising and community outreach in each city, OES’ mobile centre visited 14 Ontario communities in total, including North Bay, Kitchener-Waterloo, Windsor, St. Catharines, Cornwall, Peterborough, Pickering, Ottawa, Kingston, Markham, Hamilton, Brampton, Mississauga and London.
“The response we received from Ontarians throughout the tour was overwhelmingly positive,” said Carol Hochu, OES Executive Director. “The message is loud and clear – people want a safe, convenient and environmentally conscious way to get rid of e-waste cluttering their homes and businesses. The good news is that 85 per cent of Ontarians live within 10 kilometres of an OES-approved collection site, so there are options available to many all year-round.”
Residents came out to the events in droves, often with vehicles piled high with TVs, computers, cell phones, digital cameras, old VCRs and any number of items included under more than 40 different e-waste categories accepted through the OES program. In keeping with the “green” theme, some residents even arrived on foot or on bicycles. Leading up to the events, residents were encouraged to bring in their oldest electronics for the opportunity to win prizes, and bring them they did: the tour saw all manner of outdated devices, from pre-WWII-era rotary dial phones and TVs in wooden cabinets to eight-track players and Polaroid cameras, to name a few.
“Our goal is to keep electronics out of landfill in order to achieve a greener, healthier environment, and our mobile exhibit plays a huge role in helping Ontarians understand the importance of electronics recycling, as well as educate them on how they can take part,” said Hochu. “The fall tour helped emphasize the vital role that Ontarians play in helping to build a sustainable future, and we hope that they will now think twice before throwing out that old cell phone or unwanted TV.”
Ontario residents and business owners are encouraged to visit www.recycleyourelectronics.ca to find a complete list of collection sites and events in their area. Additional information on the OES program can be found at www.ontarioelectronicstewardship.ca.
About Ontario Electronic Stewardship
Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES), a not-for-profit industry organization, oversees the responsible reuse and recycling of waste electronics through its network of more than 600 approved collection points across the province. Each Ontario resident and business is encouraged to safely recycle your electronics.
The program was developed with Waste Diversion Ontario on behalf of the Ontario government under the Waste Diversion Act, 2002. The OES electronic waste recycling program accepts 44 items of electronic waste including computers, televisions, DVD players, hand-held devices and more.
