In February, Echo Tech provided a free community e-waste drop-off day at Ellerslie School thanks to a grant from Ōrākei Local Board.
The initiative was a success, with 380 cars dropping off more than 8,800kg of electronic waste.
Echo Tech is a company that offers e-waste recycling services.
Marketing Executive Bella Gierys says that during their office hours in Penrose, people can drop off some items like batteries, laptops and phones for free. However, other harder to recycle items like fridges and printers usually come with a recycling charge.
“It’s super important to be able to make e-waste recycling really accessible to people in the community,” says Bella.
“Working with local boards and other grant providers to go out to the community with these events, making drop-offs free for all items, we see a large influx of e-waste get dropped off.
“It goes to show that people are wanting to get rid of this stuff and making it accessible makes a huge difference.”
Ōrākei Local Board chair Scott Milne says this initiative is especially relevant with the spike in truck fires over the summer due to unsafe rubbish disposal.
“Giving locals the opportunity to safely dispose of dangerous waste not only helps our environment, but also stops these products going into general waste which can put lives at risk,” says Scott.
“We welcome ideas of all kinds from our grant applicants and look forward to seeing the innovative ways individuals and groups plan to improve our area.”
The local board is now accepting grant applications for projects and activities that will benefit the community.
Check to see if you or your community organisation could be eligible for a grant of $3,000 - $10,000 in the current Ōrākei Local Grant round. Applications close 7 March.
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