What is the aim of The E-Waste Column?

 

The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter educate the public about e-waste, transition minerals, and critical raw materials. It is a core aim of our resources to educate the general public on the just transition, the "social license to operate" (SLO), as well as legal and policy developments in this space.

What is the aim of The E-Waste Database?

 

The E-Waste Database is a text-based e-learning platform. The platform consists of 25+ learning modules and 200+ learning entries. These are broadly focused on raw materials, circularity, and the just energy transition.

 

Our database allows learners to access content remotely and learn at their own pace. We chose a text-based approach to our education as it is inclusive and accessible. To maximize the reach, our database is publicly accessible without any fees to its users.

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".

Why have we made a prototype of The E-Waste Database available online?

 

The E-Waste Database is a currently still a text-based prototype of the e-learning platform we are working to build. To maximize our impact, we have made it possible to access our evolving prototype online for free.

 

Once we have secured the necessary funds, we will add more interactive learning components (such as videos and quizzes) to the platform. If you are subscribed to our newsletter, you will be amongst the first to hear about any updates.

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 underrecognized groups in the corporate sustainability, energy, and mining sectors.

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Both our publications emphasize educating readers on matters related to a just transition, social impact, and social justice. We cover social, labor, gender, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and other human rights issues in the context of the energy transition, which many other educational resources and news outlets still largely overlook.

Does The E-Waste Column have an environmental mission?

 

By educating the public on critical raw materials and the just transition, we aim to help improve the general understanding and acceptance towards the energy transition. We believe that people make better decisions when they are well-informed, feel engaged, and are included in decision-making processes. In line with this, our aim is to provide education that empowers our users to build a more sustainable and inclusive future.

How does The E-Waste Column share a high level of expertise with the general public and laypeople?

 

Our founder, Christine Nikander, has a knack for explaining topics related to critical raw materials and the just transition in plain and simple language. She wants everyone to be able to understand what is going on in this space and what it means for them personally.

 

Christine is an environmental lawyer, who is specialized in waste and circularity laws. She began doing research into e-waste, conflict minerals, and circularity in the summer of 2015. Christine draws upon this expertise to write about recent developments in law, policy, and business in our column and newsletter.

How does The E-Waste Column cater to the needs of the Global South?​

 

​Our column, newsletter, and e-learning platform cover topics that play a key role for sustainable development in the Global South. Therewith, our content is also directly relevant to our readers from the Global South.

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Many countries globally source their metals, minerals, and critical raw materials from — and export their e-waste to — the Global South. This also means that the opportunity of countries in the Global South to develop sustainably is strongly impacted by what happens in metal and mineral life cycles. By making our resources freely accessible, we hope to cater to the need for high quality and reliable information on these topics in the Global South.​

Why are the writers at The E-Waste Column mostly women?

 

We ask talented writers and skilled sustainability professionals to write for us. Many of our writers are highly educated women or come from other underrepresented groups.

What topics has The E-Waste Column covered so far?

 

​Our column and newsletter touch upon a range of topics. These include ESG, sustainable development, circular economy, EU law and policymaking, corporate social responsibility, the transition to renewable energy, the EU Green Deal, supply chain due diligence and auditing, human environmental rights, business and human rights, climate law, and corporate sustainability.

 

You can explore all the past topics covered by The E-Waste Column in The E-Waste Database.

How is The E-Waste Column user-centered?​

 

Both our column and newsletter actively accept topic wishes and suggestions from our readers and the general public.

 

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 via our contact form or by e-mail.

What is the reach of the column and the newsletter?

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Our column has over 2000 followers on LinkedIn and via our website. Our founder, Christine Nikander, also has over 19 500 followers on LinkedIn, where she posts our weekly columns.

 

Our newsletter has over 2400 subscribers on LinkedIn (here and here), Substack, and our blog.

How many users does The E-Waste Database have?

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We cannot say precisely how many users The E-Waste Database has because we currently do not require users to register or log on to our platform.

 

That said, our e-learning platform has had over 8200 views and over 5900 registered clicks since we launched the public prototype. Please note that clicks are only registered for users that accept our website's cookies, so the real number of clicks is likely to be far greater.

Is The E-Waste Column an EdTech solution?

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The educational solutions and learning tools provided by The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, and The E-Waste Database take the form of a digital news outlet and e-learning platform. That means we offer EdTech solutions.

 

In contrast with most EdTech companies today, we however do not use artificial intelligence (AI) to create or generate our educational resources. There are four main reasons behind this choice: (1) AI-generated content is often biased against historically underrecognized groups and it is particularly the voices and concerns of these groups that we want to amplify through our educational resources; (2) We seek to fund writers and creators from historically underrecognized groups rather than use AI-generated content (for which the input contents' original creators are not being rightfully paid); (3) We seek to respect the content, intellectual property, and copyright of other writers and creators and AI currently still fails to do this sufficiently; (4) We want our educational resources to be copyrightable and AI-generated content is not copyrightable (because it is not the work of a human creator and is generated without any human creative contribution). Through the choice to not use AI-generated content, we aim to take a more ethical and just approach to creating EdTech solutions.

How scalable is The E-Waste Column as a solution?

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As a digital news outlet and e-learning platform, the educational solutions and learning tools provided by The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, and The E-Waste Database are highly scalable by nature. We currently reach between 2000 and 20000 users with our content, and our reach can be increased far beyond this.

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Given that our resources are accessible without a fee or charge to users, the audience we reach is not limited to users' ability or willingness to pay for their continuing education.

What spillover effect does The E-Waste Column have?

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Our column and our newsletter have inspired further research by Bachelor and Master students, from different disciplines, into e-waste and critical raw materials. You can find an example of this here.

Does The E-Waste Column have the potential to reduce the carbon footprints of its users?

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The energy sector is responsible for about 40% of global CO2 emissions. Yet, it is estimated that up to 20% of consumers' energy use can be saved through behavioral changes.

 

Similarly, the electronics industry is estimated to have emitted 580 million metric tons of CO2 in 2020 — and is therewith amongst the top eight polluting sectors collectively responsible for more than half of the world’s carbon footprint. (Read more about e-waste's impact on the climate here.) Yet, by increasing the lifespan of electronic devices by 50% to 100% — for example through repair, refurbishment, and reuse, it is possible to mitigate up to half of the total greenhouse gas emissions created by the electronics industry.

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Our column, newsletter, and e-learning platform have the potential to raise awareness and inspire our users to take a more conscious approach to their electronics and energy use, the production and disposal of e-waste, and to the energy transition more broadly. This, in turn, has the potential to reduce the carbon footprints of our users.

Does The E-Waste Column have the potential to reduce the environmental and ecological footprints of its users?

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Our column, newsletter, and e-learning platform aim to educate our users about their electronics and energy use, the production and disposal of e-waste, and the energy transition more broadly. If this education can motivate and bring about behavioral changes, it also has the potential to indirectly reduce the environmental and ecological footprints of our users.

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In this context, it is worth noting that the production of non-renewable energy has a significant negative impact of the environment. By transitioning over to renewable energy sources, it is possible to develop and meet our energy needs in a more sustainable manner — especially if the reuse and circularity of resources is at the heart of this transition for both companies and consumers.

 

The production of electronics consumes energy and water, is largely dependent on the mining of finite raw materials, and emits toxic chemicals. More specifically, the mining for metal, minerals, and raw materials used in electronics can cause habitat destruction, soil and water contamination, and greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the incorrect disposal of e-waste often results in toxic chemicals being leached into the ground and surrounding freshwater. By using of electronics and reducing e-waste, it is however possible to reduce and mitigate some of these adverse effects. (You can read about practical ways to do this here.) 

How can you support The E-Waste Column?

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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. You will find more ways to support our work here.