The Sunshine Coast Lions Club has met their goal of collecting 100,000 pounds of E-waste.
On Wednesday, the club held its second community-wide E-waste collection day. All of the product collected, from computers and printers to old television sets, will be sent to Techno Trash in Vancouver. Techno is a certified processor of electronic equipment in Alberta with operations in B.C. Techno hopes to become a certified processor in B.C. shortly.
"The community response has been fantastic," said Norm Blair, past president of the Lions Club. "More than 60,000 pounds of electronic waste has already been collected and by the end of today's collection day I'm sure we'll meet or exceed our goal of 100,000 pounds."
Last March the Sunshine Coast Lions Club passed a motion to move forward on developing an electronic waste collection program for the Sunshine Coast.
According to Blair, the motion was also presented to a Lions International district conference with an objective to seek a show of confidence to promote the pilot project to Lions Clubs throughout the province once some data is established and processes for other clubs are met. During the past seven months, the Lions Club has worked hard in the community and moved the project to the next level by holding Wednesday's event.
To date, volunteers have spent more than 300 hours volunteering their time on the project, more than $10,000 of in-kind donations have been received, support has been granted by all three regional government's including the District of Sechelt, Town of Gibsons and Sunshine Coast Regional District, and several donations of re-used equipment have been made by the club.
Sechelt Mayor Cam Reid and regional district chair Ed Steeves were both on hand Wednesday to witness the collection.
The objectives of the pilot project are: to create a user friendly E-waste drop-off location for individuals, businesses and organizations to dispose of all electronic equipment; to assist in shrinking the digital divide both locally and in third world countries; and to establish relationships with certified electronic recyclers to ensure all E-waste material is disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.
"The provincial government is reviewing strategies to implement a collection process for electronic waste," Blair said. "We'd like to get more involved provincially and see all the Lions Clubs across the province getting involved. The project fits well with many of the objectives of Lions Clubs as they participate in their respective communities."
Blair points out that all funds raised by projects such as this go back into the community to assist with many other community endeavours.
2006 was a banner year for the Sunshine Coast Lions Club as the organization paid or pledged funds totalling more than $35,000 to several organizations, including more than $11,000 to the Back the CAT campaign.
Club members also volunteered at such events at the recent polar bear swim, Easter egg hunt, drag race concessions, Rick Hansen Wheels in Motion and the Cancer Relay for Life.
