Up-cycling e-Waste into Innovative Products through Social Enterprise

摘要

Advances in information technology have brought about numerous benefits for many aspects of life. However, the increased pervasiveness of electronic devices has also resulted in significant amounts of e-waste. E-waste now extensively occupies scarce landfill resources and contributes to pollution due to the toxic and highly reactive materials used in construction. This paper describes a unique social enterprise business model that deals with the duel problem of social disadvantage and e-waste. Through building capacity across all sectors in the community, this case study shows how a social enterprise can improve societal outcomes through training and education, whilst also dramatically reducing the amount of e-waste going to landfill. Furthermore, in addition to recycling, this social enterprise model can work with relevant stakeholders to up-cycle e-waste into practical and environmentally conscious commercial products. The social enterprise model (with partner organisations) and spin-off projects have led to multiple individual and commercial successes. This paper provides an overview of how this social enterprise operates and some of the major projects that are underway using up-cycled e-waste.