By Smahi Vijay
CTD’s Pilot Comic Excerpt
Ever wonder where your old batteries or busted gadgets end up? Well, most of it ends up in big underwater dumps known as landfills, and its contents aren’t going anywhere good. That’s where Closing The Divide (CTD) steps in. We’re a student-led team on a mission to flip the script on e-waste, starting right here in CIS. With the help of Virogreen, a leader in the secure, sustainable consumption of electronics and IT assets, CTD is turning your electronic ‘trash’ into something much more valuable- precious metals, recyclable plastics, rare earth elements, and various industrial elements.
Why does E-waste matter to the world?
E-waste has common misconceptions associated with it. There is a famous saying that you can never ‘truly judge a book by its cover’, and the value of electronic waste is a prime example of why that is. There is a reason why your CIS Macbooks or iPads are so expensive; our devices and gadgets have many valuable materials such as gold, silver, copper, and various rare earth metals. By recycling your electronics, you’re not only saving so many precious metals from going to waste, but you can also eventually expect lower prices in the tech market. When you reduce the arduous labour required in the primary business sector (i.e. mine workers, extraction specialists, etc), you get the satisfaction of strengthening the world’s sustainability pillars – one step at a time. Most importantly, the waste is cut down from landfills, which means we will still have a few more years left before the eventual submerging of Singapore.
So, where does CTD come in?
CTD isn’t just talking about change; we’re making it happen. With collection drives and campaigns, we’re getting our school community involved – students, teachers, and staff are all pitching in by properly disposing of e-waste. This project has been in the works for about 5-6 months now, and it wouldn’t be possible without our hardworking team of volunteers at CIS. Our partnership with Virogreen and our strong administrative student core team of 20+ people strengthens our mission and shows our commitment to making a meaningful environmental impact. As the founder of this project, I have worked extensively with Mr. Vincent from Virogreen to understand the e-waste recycling process, received direct mentorship from him to understand how Singaporean businesses operate with sustainability patterns, and interactively led podcast conversations and facility visits about the general e-waste landscape that we as students can help mitigate the adverse effects of.
Working alongside Virogreen, we ensure that everything from old batteries to outdated devices gets recycled responsibly, privacy is maintained and data gets destroyed effectively with the implementation of both advanced technology machinery as well as safe labour practices.
Besides that, there is one thing that we emphasise the most; Tech sustainability linked with Tech literacy – it’s literally our slogan! Simply recycling your devices without truly knowing the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of technology implies that you’re just skimming the surface. At Closing The Divide, we believe that being ‘adequately equipped to use technology’ is only half the battle—knowing how to navigate and employ these resources is just as important. That’s why we’ve launched a student-led tech literacy initiative aimed at empowering students with essential digital skills such as coding, machine learning, cybersecurity, and so much more. Through workshops and hands-on sessions, we’re teaching everything from basic computer functions to navigating more complex tech tools. Our goal? To close the digital divide and ensure CIS students are equipped to thrive in a tech-driven world. If you were waiting for a catch, there isn’t one – no fees involved. By the end of this program, there will be a hackathon competition with remarkable, advocacy-driven projects such as websites, blogs, donation trackers, and educational games! You can stand a chance to win certificates, letters of appreciation and maybe even fund budgets if your idea is successful.
Our CTD comic anthology
The Print readers are the first to see it. We are doing a CTD comic book series with our very own mascots (akin to the ones you may see in the Singapore MRT), who always have a tale to tell or another problem to solve.CTD plans to share these short stories with the library so that our young primary students can read and learn about the consequences of unsustainable resource consumption from a young age. If you want to be involved or would like to boost this initiative, you can read to kids, do some graphic designing, create storylines, and more with CTD – submit your ideas to this email [email protected] and the best one will get shortlisted.
Singapore’s E-waste landscape
At the end of the day, we are still just students learning about the ways we can become more conscious about our carbon footprints, or how we can prevent Singapore’s eventual environmental collapse, a more concerning goal. It has been projected that Semakau Island, Singapore’s primary landfill, has reached about 85% of its capacity. In the next 9-10 years from now, Singapore may fully submerge itself and this is an eye-opening situation that must be acted upon now to combat further negative impacts. We can’t wait for the future, we must change the present. Singapore is already a leader in sustainability, but e-waste remains a challenge. By tackling e-waste at the core through multiple initiatives such as the e-waste collection drives, sustainability podcast episodes with experts around the globe, CIS student volunteer club involvement, and our periodic e-waste facility visits – Closing The Divide is not only helping to reduce environmental impact but also aims to foster a culture of ethical responsibility and perseverance.
What are you waiting for? Whether you’re interested in writing, reading to young kids, learning about the tech skills that will help you in the future, or being environmentally proactive through the lens of e-waste action – Closing The Divide (CTD) welcomes you to make a meaningful impact and learn about invaluable sustainability concepts that will take you a long way down the road! If you like our comics, email [email protected] to share your opinions or share your brilliant ideas with The Print.