Many of us spent the first part of quarantine spring cleaning. Whether it was clearing out closets, updating home offices or purging old or outdated products, lots of us ended up with piles of unwanted electronics and even more questions for what to do with them. Thankfully seniors Suchira Karsuala and Jessica Yang’s nonprofit ElectroCycle is here to help.
Electrocycle is a local NGO focused on reducing electronic waste and preserving the planet. The idea sparked after the Carroll (Jessica) and Coppell (Suchira) students bonded over their shared passion for sustainability at Dartmouth’s Environmental Leadership Academy in 2019. The young women started talking about how they could make the biggest environmental impact and got to work making a difference.
“Neither of us thought we were going to start a nonprofit,” Suchira says. “My advice for people who want to start a nonprofit is it’s not as daunting as it seems. There’s a lot of support you can get from local school and government officials. They can guide you.”
In January 2020, Suchira and Jessica formed the 501(c)(3) and started partnering with DFW school systems and local governments to spread awareness about how electronic waste is affecting the environment. They also planned to host drives where locals could drop off unwanted electronic waste that they could then responsibility recycle. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to pivot.
Now the nonprofit is offering curbside pickup for those who want to donate their unwanted electronics. Those interested just need to fill out the form on the nonprofit’s website to request pickup.
Electrocycle works with a recycling center in Carrollton to ensure all products are recycled properly and sustainably, unlike some other collection ATMs found throughout the area. The nonprofit’s next step is to use any funds gathered through the recycling process to invest in community initiatives. People can fill out a grant form on Electrocycle’s website to share what their plans would be with these funds. Suchira aspires for these grants to help locals achieve their dreams, whether they be creating a community garden or starting their own NGO initiative.
“We want to invest in small leaders,” Suchira says.
Electrocycle collects everything from iPhones and iPads to monitors and computers. And if there are items, or parts, that cannot be recycled Suchira and Jessica send those items to a zero-waste company that knows how to best reuse these products.