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Brisbane Airport is committed to supporting community efforts through its Community Giving Fund program, and one of this year’s...
As a recent recipient of Brisbane Airport’s Community Giving Fund, eWaste Connection blends environmental sustainability with social interaction and inclusion in its recycling workshops.
eWaste Connection has successfully diverted over 422,340 kilograms of electronic waste from landfill while growing a supportive community for individuals with physical and mental disabilities.
This initiative is not only impactful for the environment but also empowers people to connect and thrive.
Monique Lowndes, the founder and director of eWaste Connection, began this not-for-profit organisation for people like her son who have a need for meaningful activity and connection in an inclusive environment.
What started as a simple idea has now grown into a thriving community with more than 100 current participants and 40 current volunteers.
Monique shares the benefits of participation, “if there are people out there who have a disability who are looking to improve their confidence and self-esteem skill set, they are welcome to come along.”
eWaste Connection receives pre-loved electrical items, such as computers, cables, kitchen appliances and obsolete IT equipment and disassembles them to be recycled and diverted away from landfill.
During the workshops, participants help assist in this process and develop fine motor skills to separate the parts.
“There are many different steps to do during this process, meaning we can always find an impactful job for participants to meaningfully contribute regardless of physical or mental disabilities or impairments,” Monique said.
As a nonprofit organisation, donations and grants make improving and expanding eWaste Connection’s initiative achievable.
“When we came across the Brisbane Airport Community Giving Fund grants, it was something we really wanted to apply for because it wasn’t quite as prescriptive as other grants that we apply for,” she says.
The funding from the Brisbane Airport grant is going toward the implementation of air conditioning across the locations used for the workshops. The current lack of air conditioning in two of our workshop spaces is an inhibitor for maintaining volunteer and participant visitation during the hotter months.
“A lot of disabled people are quite sensitive to heat. For example, one of my son’s medications means he’s quite vulnerable to the heat,” Monique shared.
Adding air conditioning doesn’t just make the workshops more comfortable, but also more accessible for these visitors, “It’s going to make a big difference to our workers, it’s just going to be better for everybody,” Monique notes.
Monique explains they are looking forward to the ability to contribute more to the electronic recycling cause with more capacity over summer, “It will enable us to then offer opportunities to a few more people with disabilities. It’s good for us, better for the environment.”
Looking forward, Monique explains that eWaste Connection is always on the lookout for opportunities to improve both the environmental and social side of the initiative through the hope of potential future grants and partnerships with like-minded companies.
The next step will be to expand the recycling efforts to include hard plastic that currently is difficult to recycle, “We see this as a big opportunity because at the moment there are not many viable options to dispose of that hard plastic and we don’t want to see it go into landfill,” Monique said.
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