M’CHIGEENG—A sure sign of spring on Manitoulin Island is always the Manitoulin Secondary School (MSS) Robotics Team’s annual E-waste drive. The team, also known as Manitoulin Metal, has had a key focus on environmental sustainability, along with robotics, since its inception in 2017. From community clean-ups, to battery collection, to buying carbon offsets, Manitoulin Metal is truly a green team – despite their team colours being yellow and black.
This past week saw the most successful E-waste drive the team has ever hosted. Ten four-foot by four-foot boxes were filled to the brim with old TVs, speakers, cellphones, cords, monitors, propane tanks, and more. In fact, several bins had E-waste placed around them because they ran out of room! Starting on Monday, May 26th, the boxes were open for students, staff, and the wider community to drop their E-waste off at the boxes located behind MSS. From 3pm to 5pm each day that week, and from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, volunteers from the team were available to help visitors unload.
The team partnered with a certified recycling company to ensure all items were handled properly. In addition to helping the environment, the initiative also helped the team’s fundraising efforts. The team is compensated for each tonne of E-waste collected. The recycling collected will be sorted and weighed next week, determining the funds raised.
This won’t be the last you’ll hear from Manitoulin Metal in their offseason! Next week, they will be visiting elementary schools across the Island to show off their robot and teach students about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). During the summer, they are hosting two robotics summer camps and appearing at several events, like Harbour Days in Gore Bay.
by Alexandra Wilson-Zegil
