The Mennonite Central Committee has just the answer for the piles of electronic waste accumulating in our basements and attics. From Apr. 10 to Earth Day on Apr. 22, five MCC locations, including the thrift store in Elmira, will be collecting e-waste, and funds raised will be put towards sustainability features ranging from rainwater harvesting and solar technology, to improved energy efficiency at the organization’s new building that will be built at 50 Kent St. in Kitchener.
The other four locations are the Waterloo thrift shop at 50 Bridgeport Rd. E., the MCC head office at 50 Kent St., the New Hamburg Thrift Centre at 41 Heritage Dr., and the MCC office in St. Catharines at 22-595 Carlton St.
“It’s very important,” said Betty Marshall, the general manager of the Elmira thrift store located at 59 Church St. W. “The MCC envisions communities worldwide in relationships with God, one another and creation, and this will help fulfill that part of their vision statement.”
Given the nature of thrift, Marshall said that the store receives a lot of e-waste, but given the uncertainty of whether or not the devices still work (or how well) the store does not re-sell those electronic devices to the public. Instead, MCC used to take the waste to the landfill for proper disposal,
But about a year ago the Ontario Electronic Stewardship starting paying local electronic recycling companies to purchase e-waste, Marshall said, and now MCC receives about 11 cents per pound of waste which translates into about $500 a month for the Elmira shop.
“This is a great money-maker for thrift shops – that $500 is significant,” said Marshall.
The money collected between now and Earth Day will go towards greening their new provincial headquarters, which will be located on the same site as the current headquarters.
Unveiled last year, the plan is to bring their current thrift shops located at 50 Bridgeport Rd. E. in Waterloo and 335 Lancaster St. W. under one roof, along with a branch of the Mennonite Savings and Credit Union (MSCU), an office of the Mennonite World Conference, an office of the Mennonite Foundation of Canada, as well as the Mennonite Church of Eastern Canada.
They must raise $4 million in capital and $12 million in total to expand their operations, with hopes of completion by 2013 to coincide with their 50th anniversary in Ontario.
Acceptable electronics for donation range from CD-ROM drives and computer keyboards, to radios and speakers. A complete list is available at the organizations website, https://mcco.ca/earth-day-2012.
