If you were to walk through May Hall in the Upper School this week, you would have seen tables overflowing with used electronics equipment. Thanks to two sophomores, Kyle Sha ’23 and Samuel Fontana ’23, the MICDS Upper School community gathered old electronic items for their student-planned Electronics Recycling Drive. The drive took place during the first two weeks in April with members of the community donating karaoke machines, digital cameras, boom boxes, printers, and more to Executive Personal Computers, Inc. (EPC), an organization that helps dispose of end-of-life technology items in an environmentally responsible way.
To organize the drive, Sha and Fontana worked together as a team and were guided by Director of Upper School Community Service Ms. Erin Hamill. They received help from members of the technology team like Mr. Tom Wyman, Director of Technology, and 8th grader Saivi Gadi ’25 who organized a similar drive in the Middle School. Additional members of the MICDS community helped move the electronics around. «Without any of their help, this would not have been possible,» said Sha. «We appreciate all their support and patience.»
The initial inspiration for coordinating this drive grew out of the amount of time that Fontana and Sha noticed they were using computers, especially for online learning. «We were seeing how fortunate we are but also noticed the glaring fact that there were and are many families who do not have access to the technology required to send their children to school. We wanted to rectify that situation and bring that ability to as many people as we can,» Fontana explained.
«Also,» adds Sha, «we realized with the ever-growing pace of technological advancement that large amounts of electronics were meeting their end of life. This makes proper recycling and/or reuse of electronics ever more critical. We hoped that this recycling drive would give people a chance to give away or recycle their old electronics conveniently.»
Thanks to this goal of helping those in need while also bettering the environment, the following items were gathered at the Upper School Electronics Recycling Drive:
- Assorted cables
- Boombox
- Cameras
- Desktop computers
- DVD/VHS players
- Calculators
- Electronic games
- Fans
- Incubators
- Karaoke machines
- Laptops
- Microphones
- Networking equipment
- Phones
- Power supplies
- Printers
- Scanners
- Speakers
- Watch/fitness tracker
As a lasting takeaway from this drive, Fontana and Sha said, «We’re hoping that everyone remembers not to forget those who are less fortunate while being surrounded by those with greater fortune, especially in the current crisis. We hope that they lend a helping hand to those who need it. In addition, we hope that everyone realizes that if everyone in our MICDS community comes together, we can make a difference.»
To all those who contributed to this e-recycling drive, thank you for making a positive impact on the environment and for helping others!