Toronto Zoo collecting e-waste this weekend

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If spring cleaning is on your to-do list this weekend, the Toronto Zoo is ready to take any old electronics off your hands. The zoo’s E-waste Drive this Saturday and Sunday is a free and easy way to dispose of your obsolete gadgets — and help animals, too.

Hidden under that cracked screen is a plethora of recyclable parts, including a critical mineral, tantalum, refined from coltan mined in Africa. That coltan, says Toronto Zoo Manager of Environmental Sustainability Kyla Greenham, comes from the same areas that are home to many plants and animals.

“In the Congo, they use an open pit mine, which is basically scouring of the surface into pits and with that is complete clear-cutting of the localized area. So, all of the habitat, the flora, the plants, the trees, all of that is completely cleared out so it’s just completely destroying the habitat for any kind of species.”

In addition to disrupting habitats for endangered animals like gorillas, the mining operations also disturb the soil.

“So you can have toxins that have been absorbed into the soil that is brought up to the surface, and then left on the surface,” Greenham said. “So it’s a contamination of the surface area, which in the long term, even after the mine is closed, contaminates the area, and reduces biogeneration of the plants and animals. It can actually contaminate the surface water, as well, for people in the localized area.”

Many of the companies abandon the pits and don’t do any type of rehabilitation, so the habitat loss can be permanent.

Enter the zoo’s electronics recycling program, which aims to keep tantalum in the production cycle by repurposing existing items.

“Tantalum is 100% recyclable from a unit, which means none of it is lost in the process,” Greenham said. “We have mined as much coltan as we actually need to support our electronic industry on a global scale. So if we are turning over our electronics and we fully recycle that electronic, the tantalum could then be used in the same product, new products, or in multiple new products as technology advances and we’re figuring out other ways to make the circuitry, as well.”

Year-round, the Zoo accepts cell phones through its PhoneApes program with drop boxes located by the gorilla enclosure or near the membership office, but this E-waste drive will be accepting other electronic devices, such as laptops, PCs, stereo systems, TVs, monitors, music equipment (such as keyboards or recording devices) and recycled by Canadian company, Greentec.

Greentec will wipe all data from any devices, and then recycle the items at their facilities in Cambridge and Mississauga. Greenham adds it’s a key component of the E-waste recycling program for the electronics to stay in Canada, and support a local business.

In turn, Greentec pays the zoo for the electronics, and the money goes to support conservation efforts in Africa. 

Greenham noted the zoo supports three initiatives, including a sanctuary called Ape Action Africa, which rehabilitates injured and orphaned gorillas and primates before releasing them back into the wild. Another is a Virunga mountain gorillas veterinary program, and lastly habitat restoration, to assist with regenerating former mine sites.

Those wishing to drop off donations at the zoo do not need to enter the zoo or parking area, the drop-off is located in the drop-off loop, on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The zoo is also collecting non-perishable food items to support local food banks in Scarborough.

Anyone who does wish to stick around at the zoo should note the entrance is temporarily moved, and can be accessed from the north end of the parking lot. 

On Sunday afternoon, the zoo is hosting Hyena Day, with activities for kids from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

lnelles@postmedia.com

On X: @shantora.nelles

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