Between 27 May and 14 June 2019, ten commercial real estate firms will collect electronic waste as part of the Lose Your Kilowatts campaign. The EKON association will be responsible for waste removal this year. Proceeds from recycled e-waste will go to EKON, whose mission is to provide employment support and create jobs for people with disabilities, particularly those with mental health conditions who tend to be marginalized on the labour market.
This year’s collection of electronic waste will be arranged by ten firms: BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, Capital Park, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, Golden Star Estate, Golub GetHouse, Knight Frank, JLL, NAI Estate Fellows and Platan Group, and will take place at 100 office buildings in Warsaw. Due to the considerable number of participating buildings, the campaign will be split into three parts of several days. Bins will be put out at each office building for all employees to discard electronic waste into. All equipment will be thoroughly recycled and proceeds will be donated to support the statutory activity of EKON.
“We are pleased that our Lose Your Kilowatts campaign, which we have been running for years now, fits in with the latest trends. An additional strength of this initiative lies in the cooperation of real estate firms which have joined forces for the right cause: to care about our planet. This year we have decided to refresh its format and add an element of competition among office buildings,” said Magdalena Oksańska, Head of Property Management Compliance, Knight Frank.
Thanks to this initiative, employees of office buildings in Warsaw will have an opportunity to dispose of waste electrical equipment such as computers, television sets, telephones, batteries, audio equipment and small household appliances. All devices classified as e-waste bear a special symbol of a crossed-out wheelie bin on their packaging or casing.
“The seventh edition of our Lose Your Kilowatts campaign is an excellent opportunity to get rid of waste equipment and to support an organisation acting for the benefit of the society and natural environment. The collection of electronic waste complements the activities we engage in to reduce the environmental footprint of properties by encouraging their users to be green at work and at home,” said Grzegorz Dąbrowski, Property Manager, BREEAM IN-USE Assessor, Asset Services, Cushman & Wakefield.
In 2018, ten tonnes of e-waste was collected during the Lose Your Kilowatts campaign and all proceeds went to charity. The funds were donated to the Rehabilitation, Education and Care Centre of the “Przymierze – Ziemia Piska” Association in Pisz. In addition, an anonymous person donated a record 25,517 zlotys to the same cause.
Why waste electrical and electronic equipment must not go together with other waste
Such equipment contains toxic substances which are harmful to human and animal health, and to the environment. Such substances contaminate soil, water and air.
E-waste is a valuable source of recyclable materials.
Severe fines may be imposed for dumping e-waste in wrong places.
