-waste (electronic waste) refers to discarded, broken, or obsolete electrical and electronic devices such as computers, laptops, mobile phones, chargers, tablets, and interactive smartboards. What is E-Waste at the School Level? • Common School Items: Old desktop computers, broken laptops, dead batteries, discarded charging cables, keyboards, mice, lab equipment, and old smartboards. • Why It Matters: Electronics contain toxic heavy metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, and beryllium, which can leak into soil and water if dumped improperly. Lead is especially harmful to children and can cause cognitive or behavioral issues. • Valuable Resources: E-waste also contains recoverable materials like copper, aluminum, gold, and silver. School-Level Initiatives & Actions (India & Global) • Mission LiFE / E-Waste Awareness Drives: In India, the Department of School Education & Literacy (Ministry of Education) runs school-level drives (such as under Eco-Clubs and Mission LiFE) to educate students on safe disposal and hazards. • E-Waste Audits: Schools can inventory unused or obsolete electronics on campus to decide what can be repaired, donated, or recycled. • Collection Drives: Setting up designated e-waste collection bins on campus or hosting community e-waste collection events allows students, families, and staff to drop off old gadgets. • The 3 R's Approach: • Reduce: Buy durable, energy-efficient devices and share equipment. • Reuse: Repair functional items or donate old computers to community organizations. • Recycle: Hand over end-of-life electronics to authorized/certified e-waste recyclers rather than throwing them in regular trash bins. • Data Security: Before disposing of school computers or tablets, school IT teams must ensure hard drives are securely wiped or physically destroyed to protect sensitive data