Sam Chapman Branch
"The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach."
- Benjamin E. Mays
About Sam Chapman Branch
The Sam Chapman Public School (SCPS) TAE Branch is located in Markham, Ontario, Canada. Our main goal is to spread awareness about the detrimental effects mishandled E-waste has on our environment and communities.
We aspire to make people more conscious of their actions when using and/or disposing of an electronic device -- to give disposal a second thought. Over 50 million tonnes of E-waste are produced each year, but with support from non-profit organizations such as TAE, we will be able to make a difference in this world.
Noteworthy achievements
At SCPS, we held a battery collection event the week following March Break. Though there were many difficulties, such as safety concerns issued by the school board, the vice principal's busy schedule, and the inconvenient placement of the battery bucket (see left), we managed to host a successful event.
The school had a contract with a recycling company which would come and pick up the battery bucket it once it was full. The vice principal later informed us that the bucket had been sitting idly in the corner of the office for ages, and that our battery event had filled it up within a week. This success inspired a rerun the following week, where we filled another bucket.
In the end, we collected a total of 2,940 batteries.
To advertise the collection of batteries in the school, I wrote an informational article in the school's newsletter for the month of April.
A copy was delivered to each classroom, and I received positive feedback afterwards from teachers and peers alike.
Afterwards, I had many people come up to me and ask where to put their used batteries, which led them to the rather discreetly placed battery bucket.
(article on page 3/5)
We were asked to create a flyer documenting our battery collection. The Sam Chapman Branch was one among many other branches chosen to create such a flyer because of the amount of batteries we had collected with our events.
It elaborates on the challenges that were encountered whilst collecting the batteries and the results that were achieved from simple perseverance and successful marketing devices.
I had made announcements in the school and written an article in the newsletter to spread awareness about the pernicious effects of E-waste on our environment.
Yes, it may have been difficult, but what matters is that batteries made it to the buckets, and the buckets made it to a proper recycling facility. That is the goal of this entire project, and that is what was achieved.
Take Action and Join Us!
If you attend Sam Chapman Public School or a nearby school,
please join us to protect a healthy environment!
please join us to protect a healthy environment!