FAQ
Your frequently asked
questions answered by us.
What is the difference between the column and the newsletter?
​
Our column is published weekly. It mostly covers new or recent developments in law, policy, and business. Our columns are only roughly 450 words long and published on LinkedIn and our website. They are always written by Christine Nikander.
Our newsletter is published monthly. It focuses on broader developments and social justice questions. Our newsletters are only roughly 1500 to 1700 words long and on LinkedIn, on Substack, and on our blog. They are commonly written by Christine Nikander together with a guest contributor.
Is the news and media coverage of The E-Waste Column independent?
The views reflected in The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter are the writers' own and based on their own research.
The column and newsletter do not receive funding from any external or third parties that are in a position to influence the content or perspective of the column or the newsletter.
What distinguishes the news and media coverage of The E-Waste Column from other news providers?
The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter both actively aim to shed light on social justice questions in the context of the energy transition and to bring on board voices and perspectives that might not otherwise be heard.
What is the aim of The E-Waste Column?
The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter are both predominantly aimed at educating the public about e-waste, transition minerals, and critical raw materials.
Both publications particularly empathize educating readers on matters related to a just transition, social impact, and social justice. In line with this, they will often address and discuss social, labor, gender, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and other human rights issues.
Does The E-Waste Column have a social mission?
The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter both aim to create more space for the voices of historically underrepresented groups in the corporate sustainability, energy, and mining sectors.
Has The E-Waste Column won any awards?
In December 2024, The E-Waste Column was featured in The Bloom’s "30 Under 30 Social Impact".
Who funds The E-Waste Column?
​
The column and newsletter are partially funded through donations and voluntary contributions from readers, and partially through license fees acquired from entities using our independently-created content for their own educational or marketing purposes. Similarly to other external or third parties, these licensees are not in a position to influence the content or perspective of the column or newsletter.
The remaining costs for running the column, newsletter, and website are covered by our founder, Christine Nikander, herself.
How old is The E-Waste Column?
Our founder, Christine Nikander, began doing research into e-waste, conflict minerals, and circularity in the summer of 2015.
We published our first weekly column in September 2022 and our first monthly newsletter at the end of November 2023.
Why are there so many women writers at The E-Waste Column?
We ask talented writers and skilled sustainability professionals to write for us. Many of these are unsurprisingly highly educated women.
I am looking to get a better overview of the life cycle of an EV battery. Is there a resource that can help me with this?
​
Palsa & Pulk B.V. has created an interactive visual on the life cycle of an EV battery together with students from the Master's program in sustainable development at Utrecht University. The visual is now freely accessible to all on Palsa & Pulk's website and can be accessed here.
Why is The E-Waste Column predominantly written by someone trained in law?
Our founder, Christine Nikander, is an environmental lawyer, who is specialized is waste and circularity laws. She began doing research into e-waste, conflict minerals, and circularity in the summer of 2015.
Through The E-Waste Column, Christine Nikander particularly aims to give readers a better understanding of the regulatory and policy framework in which e-waste, transition minerals, and critical raw materials markets operate.
Does The E-Waste Column offer legal or investment advice?
All content from The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, and this website is information of a general nature and does not address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. The content is not intended as a substitute for legal, commercial and/or financial advice from a licensed professional.
The services offered by The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, and this website are not for the purpose of acting as the customer’s personal legal, investment, or financial adviser. The customer should seek a licensed legal, investment, or financial adviser if the customer is looking for personalized advice in any of these areas.
Does The E-Waste Column reflect the views of Palsa & Pulk B.V.?
​
Despite the affiliation of many of our writers with Palsa & Pulk B.V., The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of Palsa & Pulk B.V. as a company.
In the column and the newsletter, our writers express their own personal views and thoughts. These views and thoughts are based on our writers' independent research and their own expert perspectives.
Is The E-Waste Column funded by the EU,
or does Christine Nikander work for the EU?
​
The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, and this website are not funded by the European Union (EU) or its institutions, bodies, and agencies.
​
Christine Nikander is not an employee of the European Union or its institutions, bodies, and agencies. She does, however, regularly offer expertise to institutions, bodies, and agencies of the EU as an independent and external advisor.
​
As an expert in waste and circularity laws, Christine Nikander is a member of the consortium that has been selected by the Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) of the European Commission for the “Framework Contract on the Circular Economy and Waste to Resources”. She also conducts legal research into the national transposition and implementation of EU directives related to energy, the environment, and fundamental rights under studies conducted for institutions, bodies, and agencies of the EU.
What topics has The E-Waste Column covered so far?
​
You can explore all the past topics covered by The E-Waste Column in The E-Waste Database.
Can I suggest a (potential) topic to The E-Waste Column?
​
You are most welcome to drop us a line with suggestions for topics that you would like to see us cover in future columns or newsletters. You can do this via our contact form or by e-mail.
Can I copy the content of The E-Waste Column?
You may not, under any circumstances, copy (in whole or in part) or appropriate the content of The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, or this website without written consent from Christine Nikander.
Unless you can validly make use of the "fair use" doctrine, you must have a contractual license from us to use our content on your own website, online and social media, or print media. ​If you are interested in acquiring a non-exclusive license for this, please contact us at: info@theewastecolumn.com.
Can I embed the posts and articles of The E-Waste Column on my own website?
Embedding content from The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, or this website is generally not allowed.
Unless you can validly make use of the "fair use" doctrine, you must have a contractual license from us to use our content on your own website, online and social media, or print media. ​If you are interested in acquiring a non-exclusive license for this, please contact us at: info@theewastecolumn.com.
Can I invite Christine Nikander or other contributors to The E-Waste Column to write for me?
If you would like one of us to write something for you, please contact us via our contact form or by e-mail.
As our time and expertise has a real value, we will only write for you in the context of commercial or revenue-generating purposes when being paid a fair compensation. Titles, exposure, and "impressive resume lines" will not pay our bills — so if you are not willing to adequately compensate us for our time, kindly refrain from reaching out altogether.
Underpaying writers and creators does not make you a savvy business person; it is just exploitative and disrespectful.
Can I invite Christine Nikander or other contributors to The E-Waste Column to speak at my event?
If you would like one of us to speak at your event(s), please contact us via our contact form or by e-mail.
Our time and expertise has a market value. This also means that we will only come speak at your corporate event(s) for a fair compensation. Exposure and "nice CV lines" will not pay our bills — so if you are not willing to adequately compensate us, please save us all the time and kindly refrain from messaging us.
Offering highly educated women (or skilled sustainability professionals, for that matter) more unpaid speaking opportunities at corporate events is in no way going to make the world a better place.
Can I partner with The E-Waste Column to do research or create educational content?
If you are interested in partnering with us for research or educational purposes, please contact us via our contact form or by e-mail.
Our expertise and time has a value, which means we also expect to be fairly remunerated for our work where appropriate.
Who owns the copyright and IP rights to The E-Waste Column?
The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter are the intellectual property (IP) of Christine Nikander, select guest contributors, and Palsa & Pulk B.V. All rights are reserved.
No part of The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, or this website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Christine Nikander. Text and data mining is not permitted.
Are The E-Waste Database and The E-Waste Database also protected by copyright?
Along with all of the other content on this website, The E-Waste Database and The E-Waste Blog are protected by copyright. The intellectual property (IP) belongs to Christine Nikander, select guest contributors, and Palsa & Pulk B.V.
All rights are reserved. No part of The E-Waste Database, The E-Waste Blog, or this website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Christine Nikander. Text and data mining is not permitted.
Is it possible to license the IP of The E-Waste Column?
A contractual license is mandatory for any commercial or revenue-generating use of the intellectual property (IP) of The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, or this website. If you are interested in acquiring a non-exclusive license for the use of our IP, please contact us at: info@theewastecolumn.com.
Revenues generated through the licensing of the IP will be used to fund the operations of the column, newsletter, and website and to remunerate our writers and contributors.
Does The E-Waste Column endorse the products and services of its licensees?
The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, and its writers do not endorse the products and services of entities licensing intellectual property (IP) from us.
Revenues generated through the licensing of the IP will be used to fund the operations of the column, newsletter, and website and to remunerate our writers and contributors. The licensees, however, are not in a position to influence the content or perspective of the column or newsletter.
What am I explicitly not allowed to do with the content of The E-Waste Column?
Amongst others, you are specifically prohibited from doing any of the following with the content of The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, and this website: (1) use the content and/or material in a manner that harms or causes damage to The E-Waste Column, Palsa & Pulk B.V., Christine Nikander, or our writers; (2) use the content and/or material for advertising purposes or appropriate the content and/or material for your sales purposes without a license; and (3) extract or use the content and/or material to publish, promote, or resell it for your own purposes without a license.
What happens when I do not ask for permission to use the IP of The E-Waste Column?
Copyright infringements and misuses of the intellectual property (IP) of The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, or this website will be prosecuted in a court of law by Palsa & Pulk B.V. and/or our writers.
Therefore, please make sure you have a contractual license from us or can validly make use of the "fair use" doctrine before using our IP.
How can I report a violation of The E-Waste Column's IP?
Copyright infringements and misuses of the intellectual property (IP) of The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, or this website can be reported to us via our contact form or by e-mail.
Does The E-Waste Column sell subscriptions to its readers?
​
The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter do not currently sell subscriptions to its readers. If you are interested, you can however express your interest by signing up for a future newsletter subscription via our Substack.
How can I support The E-Waste Column?
​
If you enjoy the column and newsletter, you can support us by telling a friend or colleague about our work or by donating a cup of tea.
Was your question not answered?
​
If you could not find the answers you were looking for anywhere on our website, please reach out via our contact form or by e-mail.
