Land & Water Challenge
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Teacher Sponsor: David Hopkins
Team Name: Repair It Forward
Team Members (left to right): Hazzy Miner, Andrew Krall, Matthew Elliott, Dave Chen. Not pictured
is Vyacheslav Sidorov (“Slavic”)
(Sitting in front of 40 computers that have been refurbished this school year.)
School: Columbia Area Career Center
School City and State: Columbia, Missouri
Principal: Randall Gooch
PART 1: What’s the environmental issue?
The topic that we have chosen is electronic waste or eWaste. eWaste
disposal causes the release of dozens of dangerous chemicals into the
environment and the sheer volume of the problem is staggering. Americans
throw away 400 million electronic devices every year, and 112,000 computers
are thrown away in the U.S. EVERY DAY. We are making a positive impact on
the environment by refurbishing donated computers that would otherwise have
been tossed into landfills and giving them to those in need.
We chose this topic because it is a growing issue, and it allows us to
utilize our skills in repairing computers to positively impact both the
environment and the lives of our patrons. eWaste is a major ecological
concern, accounting for 40% of the heavy metals in landfills and 70% of the
toxic waste. In addition, eWaste is growing 2-3 times faster than any other type
of solid waste, adding another burden to our growing landfills.
PART 2: What’s your action plan?
We are achieving our goals by following these steps :
1. We are collecting previously owned computers from various individuals,
agencies, and churches in Columbia, Missouri area.
2. Students determine which machines can viably be refurbished. Those that
can’t are stripped of useful parts and recycled.
3. Serviceable machines are repaired and loaded with Windows 7 and Office
2010.
4. Rebuilt machines are distributed through a network of charities and
educational programs. Since January of 2014, the program has given out
over 150 computers to those in need.
PART 2: What’s your action plan? (continued)
Team Responsibilities:
PART 2: What’s your action plan? (continued)
This project addresses two main issues. The first issue is the impact of
electronic waste on Missouri landfills, and how the public can mitigate this
impact by recycling their old electronics.
The second is bridging the Digital Divide. The fact is that in this electronic
age, many people do not have access to computer technology. Ironically, only
2% of all PCs ever find their way to a second user yet 2/3 of discarded
electronics are still functional. This project addresses both of these issues
while providing invaluable hands-on computer repair experience for students.
We can quantify the environmental impact by calculating the gallons of
water, pounds of chemicals, and the pounds of fossil fuels saved by our
recycling efforts. Currently, we are working on tools to measure the impact our
refurbished computers have on the lives of the recipients.
PART 3: How did you implement your ideas?
We organized a community-wide event with the Interfaith Council to
solicit donations from parishioners of local churches. We also hosted our own
recycling drive one Saturday, and collected various computers, laptops,
keyboards, and mice. Local media has been very supportive and helped get
the word out. Almost every day, donated computers come through the door of
the Career Center.
We then worked with Columbia Public Schools (CPS) groups to
distribute the machines to people who are in need of computers. We also
worked with the Midwest Recycling Center, who took the computer parts
that we were unable to use. They took them to their center in Jefferson
City, where they properly recycled the components into the metals, wire,
and other base parts. Please watch our video in the Project Gallery for
more information on Midwest Recycling.
PART 3: How did you implement your ideas?
(continued)
To publicize our efforts we have created a website, passed out flyers and
created posters to raise awareness of this pressing problem and the dangers of
eWaste.
One integral part of our effort is the Microsoft Registered Refurbisher
Program. The program allows us to install Windows products on donated
computers at a fraction of the licensing fee. We were the first Career Center in the
state with this designation.
PART 3: How did you implement your ideas?
(continued)
Here is our link to our website, which details the various community service
projects we have worked on:
http://www.repairitforward.com/
PART 4: Evaluate your plan. What are the results?
We received 102 computers, and gave 52 of the computers to
various people and organizations in an effort to help bridge the Digital Divide.
Another way our plan was successful was the fact that we provided a valuable
hands-on experience for Information Technology students, an ever-growing
career field. Finally, we helped educate the public about the dangers of eWaste
and how to prevent it.
The challenges we faced include the lack of monitors, mice,
keyboards, and power cords, the difficulty in finding a time for the team to
meet, and organizing a meeting with the recycler. We contacted the Chamber
of Commerce to find a supply of the miscellaneous parts we needed. They
referred us to Delta Systems who led us to the United Way. They contributed
15 monitors, keyboards, and mice.
We also received support from the Downtown Optimist Club, who
gave us a $600 grant to offset the cost of licensing.
PART 4: Evaluate your plan. What are the results?
(continued)
We started with 102 computers which we collected over a span of
just two months that would have otherwise been disposed of in a landfill. This
is 3,060 pounds of waste that we saved. We inspected these computers to
determine what parts were broken and what parts were still useable. We took
out the useable parts, and the unusable parts were taken by the Midwest
Recycling Center. From the useable parts, we rebuilt 52 computers in total that
will be given away to several CPS organizations such as COR, CORE, and
AVID, along with the Adult Education program.
As it takes 539 pounds of fossil fuels, 48 pounds of chemicals, and
1.5 tons of water to produce one computer and monitor, by refurbishing these
computers, we have saved:
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14 tons of fossil fuels
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2,496 pounds of chemicals
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78 tons of water
PART 4: Evaluate your plan. What are the results?
(continued)
Overall, this experience has been valuable and fun. The entire team learned
a lot about eWaste. One shocking fact is that it is expected to increase by 33%
in the next 5 years. This, combined with the fact that only 25 states currently
have electronics recycling laws, solidified our knowledge that we chose the right
topic. We also learned more about the process of recycling computers, and what
happens once they go to a recycler. Most importantly, we learned what a
difference a computer can make in the lives of others.
What will your team, school, and
teacher advisor(s) do with their winnings?
Our team will use the winnings to fund our trip to the SkillsUSA
competitions at the state and hopefully national levels. We will
be competing in the Community Service challenge, where we
will be promote awareness of eWaste and further help the
environment.
It is our hope that Repair It Forward will become a model for
schools and Career Centers nationwide.
Project Gallery
Columbia Area Career Center class lets students
‘Repair It Forward’
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/education/columbia-area-career-center-classlets-students-repair-it-forward/article_d7b50e7e-d607-11e3-a8f7-10604b9f6eda.html
Project Gallery
Repair It Forward Donates Computers to Local Islamic School and Families
http://caccnews.blogspot.com/2014/02/repair-it-forward-makes-local-news.html
Project Gallery
Recycler Info: http://midwrc.net/
Recycling Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tay85bljBxc
KOMU News Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6Y2elWxtNg&feature=youtu.be
City of Columbia Missouri - CMS
https://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Public_Comm/Public_Information/Press_Releases/view.php?id=2050
The Missourian
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/171973/repair-it-forward-program-donates-refurbished-computers-to-25-refugees-in-midmissouri/