Problems Your Organisation Can Help Solve
88% of the 4 million computers in Australia every year will end up in landfill - this contributes to the 140,000+ tonnes of electronic waste generated by Australians every year.
Discarded devices are piling up around the world at a rate of 40 million per year - even though a significant percentage of these devices are able to be refurbished to expand their usage lifespan, whole 98% of their components are fully recyclable.
E-waste is responsible for 70% of the toxic chemicals such as lead, cadmium and mercury found in landfill.
Electronic rubbish is growing at three times the rate of any other waste stream.
At the same time the gap between digitally included and excluded citizens in developing countries is substantial and growing.
Computer Literacy: In South Asia, for example, Sri Lanka, computer literacy rates remain low and stand at only 30.1% due the lack of available technology infrastructure and education. This is in contrast to Australia’s rate of over 80%.
Device Access: In Australia eighty-five per cent of high SES students have regular access to computers at school compared with 78 per cent of low SES students. Furthermore, only 22% of the population in Sri Lanka, and as low as 14% in the Eastern Province, have access to electronic devices.
Virtual Learning: School closures and mandatory quarantines during the pandemic have resulted in a complete halt in access to education in parts of the country with no access to virtual learning.