Since its inception, the Boy Scouts of America has been a national leader in conservation. Whether it be through the Leave No Trace program, the Sustainability merit badge, or any of the countless other opportunities Scouts have to strengthen their connection with the living world, Scouting continues to develop the next generation of environmental leaders.
Nowhere in Scouting is this connection stronger than in the Order of the Arrow, where we continue to build off of our 106-year legacy of outdoor adventure and conservation service. Even greater, since the adoption of the OA’s Sustainability Commitment in 2017, sustainability has been at the forefront of programs as widespread as NOAC, and as local as chapter meetings.
Recently, Waupecan Lodge in Section C-7 looked for ways to celebrate March in a creative way, while also honoring their commitment to conservation and their community. In doing so, lodge members chose to “go green” by organizing a recycling drive where they went into their communities and collected old electronics to be properly recycled.
When we think of recycling, we primarily think of plastic water bottles and newspapers. Rarely do we think of electronics. However, recycling electronic waste, or e-waste, is just as important as recycling your water bottles and newspapers, if not more. E-waste represents around 2% of America’s trash in landfills, yet accounts for nearly 70% of overall toxic waste, due to materials within electronics such as lead, mercury, and lithium.
In total, over the course of just one day, the Arrowmen of Waupecan Lodge collected 15 televisions, almost 40 monitors, 20 desktop computers, 30 laptops, and the many wires and cords associated with each, all of which may have otherwise found their way into landfills, contributing to the pollution of our soils and waterways. Instead, each of these pieces of e-waste was either recycled or up-cycled back into services benefiting the community.
When asked about what other lodges can take away from this, Lodge Chief Kyle Land said to “find something that will excite your community as this did. It’s straightforward and simple to put together, promote, identify beneficiaries, and organize a team to carry it out. It’s a safe, covid-friendly, conservation-minded project that all lodges can get behind.”