E-waste is a growing problem that impacts the livelihoods of our planet and our people. It’s been cited as such by experts at modest places like the United Nations and the World Health Organization, and luckily has been met by action by leadership at varying levels of government.
The problem is also being met with the passion of ordinary citizens, including a haphazard group of “warriors” fighting the fight here in the DMV.
Led by cofounders Rob Link and MK Hemingway, eWaste Warriors is a community of technologically and environmentally-minded people looking to make a difference through device repair and refurbishment, as well as by building a community around the sense of duty to fight against the mounting battle against e-waste.
“Original equipment manufacturers want you to buy new all the time, and they don’t want you to repair or reuse.”
Rob Link
“Original equipment manufacturers want you to buy new all the time, and they don’t want you to repair or reuse,” Link said, referencing a root cause of the problem. “I’ve been a part of the Right to Repair movement and know firsthand the battle that we have to wage against big tech.”
The battle is waged on multiple fronts. From fighting a consumption-based mindset powered by big tech keeping us wanting and buying more, to a general apathy around the negative environmental impacts of trashing electronics, eWaste Warriors knows the success of the fight starts with educating and building a community.
“Community has always been our north star,” Hemingway said. “We are built for people, powered by people.”
“Getting together like-minded individuals and companies is paramount,” Link affirmed. “Community is what makes changes in the world which is hard to do alone.”
With this local, grassroots approach to ending e-waste, eWaste Warriors hosts a monthly happy hour. It’s an opportunity for people of all backgrounds to not only donate their used technology, but also educate newcomers to the idea of e-waste management. It doubles as a way for people to network to build personal and professional connections, and hopefully collaborate to figure out ways to help solve the e-waste problem.
Bridging the digital divide is way better than contributing to a landfill
Building community helps drive interest to the cause, but what eWaste Warriors does with collected devices is how the group fights the battle on a practical level.
“The main goal is finding new life for these devices,” Link said, “so they can stay in the market longer and not become waste.”
Sometimes that looks like repairing or refurbishing a perfectly usable device to sell at a lower cost to help bridge the digital divide — where people who cannot afford the latest electronic devices are left in limbo, disconnected from the digital world. Keeping people connected feeds back into their value of community.
Other times that looks like urban mining: stripping technology of valuable materials to keep them from becoming waste.
“Devices that have lived a good life need to find the best recycling stream to make sure their materials are reused,” Link said, “whether that’s reclaiming rare earth minerals and metals or parts that can be used to save other devices.”
The eWaste Warriors’ mission is not simply prevention, but finding better ways to repurpose. “Our first priority is reuse,” Link said, noting that preventing e-waste could be as simple as giving it to dedicated disposal services provided by DC, Maryland, and Virginia governments. “You can count on the fact that we will lift heaven and earth to get a device into a reuse cycle. Other services often simply destroy devices — which is especially true with organizations that also sell new devices.”
A common issue raised by potential device donors is the threat of their data being retrieved and their privacy being compromised. That’s top of mind for the eWaste Warriors.
“Devices are professionally wiped to remove all personal information, and every donation is logged and tracked with Web3 technology,” Hemingway said, touting her backend contribution to the operation. “This combination keeps data secure while giving donors a clear picture of the journey their device takes — and the meaningful impact it creates for both the community and the environment.”
With more variety of events, collaborations with organizations, and avenues to donate devices in store for the future, eWaste Warriors looks to continue to make a global impact one drink, one conversation and one device at a time.
For more information, visit eWaste Warriors.
