[Electronics]
By Daniel Hiestand
Lane County Waste Reduction Outreach Coordinator
It's been a busy 2024 for Waste Wise Lane County, and 2025 will be even busier. As we turn the corner on this new year, we want to thank all of you, our fellow community members, for your interest and passion in making our little corner of the world more sustainable.
As you know, sustainability isn't just about "reduce-reuse-recycle," though. At its heart, it's about creating community that allows us to see each others' humanity and our shared interest in things like clean air, clean water, safe housing, nutritious food, good jobs, and living with dignity and justice.
As the new year breaks, I sincerely hope our sense of community and understanding grows and evolves in 2025.
Finally, thank you for keeping me accountable to you, the readers, with your comments, suggestions, and feedback. Onward!
(Very) quick year in review
In addition to regularly scheduled events, such as the Simplify the Holidays campaign and Food Waste Prevention Week, 2024 was packed with highlights, including the following:
In the coming weeks, I'll send out a separate email highlighting some of the new laws coming on the books in Oregon, so be on the lookout for that!
Electronics Recycling Competition kicking off
The year will star fast with the Electronics Recycling Competition from Jan. 7 to March 20, 2025. If you have unwanted, unused, or broken electronics, this is a great way to either get them repaired so they can be resold or recycled. Schools that recycle the most e-waste can win grants of up to $500, a NextStep Reuse Store computer gift certificate, and a recognition award.
Read more about Bethel School District's participation in the ERC with Ellie Owens' Frontlines article in this issue. Visit the campaign page at www.wastewiselane.org/erc to learn more.
Oregonians now have a 'Right to Repair'
Have you ever purchased a new electronic appliance, only to have it fail just a few months or years after purchase? Of course you have because that's how our economic system is designed!
Adding insult to injury is the inability to repair these faulty items, meaning they are thrown away, consumers must fork out more cash for another new item that will break again soon after purchase, and so on.
Well, good news, fellow Oregonians.
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The state's brand-spanking new Right to Repair law was enacted on Jan. 1. The law requires manufacturers to provide parts, tools, information, and software access to repair most electronic devices made after 2025. It even goes further by banning "parts pairing," a practice that prevents independent repair.
This law will help slow down one of the fast-growing waste streams: e-waste.
Check out this handy-dandy guide that does a great job explaining what the law will mean to you.
MECCA facing funding challenges
I recently came across a social media post from our good friends at MECCA that I wanted to bring attention to. For those unfamiliar with MECCA, it is a nonprofit whose mission is to divert materials from the waste stream and reuse them for creative and artistic endeavors.
"We're writing to you today with a sense of urgency," the post said. "MECCA, the vibrant arts organization that has brought creativity and joy to our community, is at a critical crossroads. Our funding situation has reached a critical point, and we're facing a significant shortfall that threatens our ability to continue delivering vital arts programs and services to our community."
If you walk into the MECCA shop at 555 High Street in Eugene, you'll be able to find low-cost (or even free!) items ranging from painting supplies to textiles to jewelry to paper and all sorts of things in between.
It's been a fantastic resource for local artists, students, and educators since 1999. Here's hoping they continue well into the future at full strength!
Please read the full post on the MECCA website.
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Simplify the Holidays campaign roundup
Our second Simplify the Holidays Leftover Recipe Contest just wrapped up. As of this writing, just a few days before the New Year begins, we had nearly 30 recipes submitted, almost double last year's total.
Participants submitted everything from casseroles to sliders to soups, with lots in between. To help catalog all of these great recipes, we will develop an electronic cookbook that we will make available in time for the holidays next year.
We also want to say "thanks" again to our sponsors, who include Main Street Market in Springfield, the Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Program, Lion & Owl in Eugene, and BRING.
Thanks to everyone who participated. We will announce our prize winners in the next issue. If you are a company or organization that would like to provide a prize sponsorship for next year, please contact us at [email protected].
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BRING events + Fix-It Fair
This is a reminder to make sure you head over to BRING to check out the BRING Events page for the latest happenings.
Our longtime nonprofit partner has been busy providing many great opportunities for all interested community members to learn new skills that bring together concepts of repair, reuse, and creativity. BRING's next Toolbox Tactics Class (Jan. 25) will focus on the basics of wall repair. Get tickets at the BRING website.
BRING is also hosting a Fix-It Fair on Feb. 2 from noon until 3 p.m. with the city of Eugene Waste Prevention Program.
Bring your broken household items & let fair "repair coaches" help you repair them at no cost. We hope to see you there. Happy New Year, everyone.
Are you enjoying the newsletter? Are there topics you wish we would cover? Please share your thoughts with us at [email protected]. Thanks for reading.