WITH a passion for environmental stewardship, Dirk Harrison, a sixth- form student at Campion College, has embarked on a mission to combat pollution by tackling a different kind of waste, electronic waste, through the launch of his Erase your E-waste project at his school.

Amidst the rapid rate of technological advancements, Harrison said he noticed a troubling trend emerging among his peers, who would often improperly discard of their old electronic devices in favour of newer models, ignorant of the correct methods to dispose these devices.

E-waste is any electronic products that are unwanted, not working, and nearing or at the end of their useful life. These include cellphones, televisions, computers, tablets and more.

In recognition of the detrimental impact e-waste can have on the environment when improperly disposed, Harrison dove into action.

“I saw that the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) had started an initiative. It was an article dated August 2022 and I just read up more about it and I thought it would be a good way to help it gain publicity if I brought it to my school,” the 17-year-old student shared at the launch of the initiative on the school’s grounds on Friday.

“It’s something a lot of people may not know yet and I think having it at a high school and gaining publicity will help not just students, but parents, and further Jamaicans’ knowledge about this, and what to do when they need to properly dispose of their electronic waste,” he continued.

Harrison said the response from the school has been great, pointing to the NSWMA E-waste truck that was being filled with electronic devices brought by students, teachers and other members of staff.

“One of my next ideas is to go to different schools. I definitely want to repeat it at my school next year or maybe later in the year, but I want to spread out and go to other schools,” he said, adding that it is important to have youth involved in matters dealing with the environment, to foster a great future.

Harrison’s mother, Diahann Gordon Harrison, shared that she was extremely proud when she learnt of the idea her son conceptualised, and the steps he was taking to make his vision a reality.

“Once we heard it, as parents we said this was sound. It’s a win-win. It’s a win for the environment, it’s a win for responsibility as well in terms of leading from the front, and it’s certainly a win for some of the health hazards that we unknowingly have these thrown away devices that remain around us causing,” she said.

Vice-principal and dean of studies at Campion College David Henry shared that the initiative aligns perfectly with the school’s values and mission to mould students who are socially conscious and advocate for change.

“We’re always proud of students [for having] that kind of thinking that is not in any way school led,” said Henry.

“A lot of what we see happen that goes well at Campion comes from the ideas of our students who come and say this is what I would like to do, this is what I would like to see. Our job is to almost be like referees to make sure that it happens in a context that is helpful without opposing it,” he said.

Kimberly Blair, communication relations manager at the NSWMA, said the authority was more than happy to answer the call when they were approached by young Harrison.

“When you have a sixth- former saying, ‘I heard this, I want to participate, I want to help, I want the country to be greener, healthier, it’s amazing,” she said.

“It’s very inspiring to know that it would connect with somebody that young because they are normally not interested. It’s not a party, it’s nothing exciting, but he’s showing that he understands the importance of protecting the environment and that is very inspiring,” she added.

The NSWMA launched its electronic waste campaign in 2022, encouraging citizens to drop off their old and unwanted devices at any of their regional offices islandwide.

The four regional offices are MPM Waste Management Limited at 67a Hagley Road, Kingston 10; WPM Waste Management Limited at 1a LOJ Commercial Centre, Montego Bay; SPM Waste Management Limited at 4a Mandeville Plaza, Manchester; and NEPM Waste Management Limited at 2 Stormont Road, New Buckfield, Ocho Rios, St Ann.

“They are very toxic, they have toxic material and they’re very hazardous to the environment and not just to the environment, but to people on a whole. They can explode and so we don’t want them at the disposal sites because they cause spontaneous combustion and so what we have been doing is removing them from the waste stream by having collection points,” she explained.

Once collected, the devices are handed over to Inet Jamaica, a local lithium, lead battery and electronic e-waste disposal company, that will export the waste to be recycled.

“People are happy to hear that we are collecting [e-waste] because normally they don’t know what to do with it, they just have it there taking up space and so they’re happy to hear that we are doing this,” she said.