Technology | Environment | Community
KNOWLEDGE SHARING
Closing the E-Loop has been developed in partnership with COOL.ORG, an ed-tech organisation with over >200k students accessing their site.
Our online education program provides circular solutions to address the growing e-waste crisis. By sharing knowledge, via engaging and informative content, our course unlocks the opportunity for students and adults to become changemakers in addressing this global problem.
Find out more by watching our course introduction.
WHAT IS CLOSING THE E-LOOP ABOUT?
Electrical and electronic equipment waste (e-waste) is the fastest growing waste stream globally. Addressing this situation can provide a range of benefits for social, environmental and economic reasons throughout the supply chain, yet this requires a systemic shift in approach.
Closing The E-Loop provides three core learning intentions:
1. identify the global e-waste crisis;
2. understand the social and environmental impacts of e-waste; and
3. investigate solutions to the e-waste crisis.
These resources help to address this crisis and provide a catalyst for change in a fun, engaging, interactive and informative fashion.
Closing The E-Loop is a first-of-its-kind resource that has made complex topics such as the life cycle of electronic products and the circular economy accessible and understandable for all.
Access the full course at COOL.ORG here
TAKE-MAKE-WASTE, A SYSTEM IN NEED OF CHANGE
Developing an equitable and all inclusive circular economy requires knowledge sharing, collaboration and understanding of the issues of our current linear model.
Watch The Life of HDMI #015 to learn about the conventional system for e-products. Reflect on this situation with open eyes to work out how you can be part of the change.
COLLABORATION
Together with COOL.ORG our team designed and developed 10 in-depth lessons aligning with the Australian school curriculum - six for years 9/10 Geography and four for years 9/10 Design & Technology. These topics were selected as our primary target group due to the teaching syllabus’ focus. In addition, COOL.ORG’s online platform, that provides open-source education material in Australia and globally, provides the opportunity for others in younger and older student age groups, adults and people outside of Australia to access the valuable content for free.
Collaboration has been key in this process. It enabled us to interview 38 industry experts from 35 unique organisations, across 36 individual interviews that have a short 2 min version and a longer 5-10 min version of engaging and informative discussion. This content is in addition to the 10 teacher lesson plans and a portfolio of one page information sheets designed for extra learning.
10 LESSONS
have been designed and created for a student group that can learn about the crisis and drive change in their own lives.
INFORMATION PACKS
enable extra learning for students and teachers who want/need additional content to understand the issues and solutions to the global e-waste crisis.
36 INTERVIEWS
were conducted with industry experts in order to illustrate the entire electronic product supply chain.
OUR EXPERTISE AND PARTNERSHIPS
In order to design, develop, manage and launch this course we needed a large amount of expertise both internally and externally. This enabled us to create credible material that is designed to be universally relevant, from a high school age group to adults. The process involved creation and production in Australia, online to locations including Ghana, India and the USA, and international in-person expert insight interviews. Throughout the project it became clear that there is a global need and demand for the type of content we have created with COOL.ORG. We are very happy to provide this course as a free resource.
OUR INTERNAL PROJECT EXPERTISE
HEAD OF SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
This course was developed and led by Tim de Ridder, a sustainability specialist adept in the intricacies of circular economy principles, zero-waste methodologies, sustainable development goals, carbon markets, community advancement and social transformation. Tim has proven experience in fostering business and project expansion, including amplifying market presence, complemented by a comprehensive skill set in education, stakeholder engagement, and dynamic marketing strategies.
His skills have been cultivated through hands-on experiences spanning diverse locations, encompassing Australia, Malaysia, Cambodia and India. Tim is also the co-author of India’s first zero-waste book, Bare Necessities: How to Live a Zero-Waste Life, creator of a UNESCO Green Citizen recognised online education content, Zero Waste Living 101, and has developed and run dozens of workshops and talks on sustainability and circular economy topics.
OUR EXTERNAL KEY PARTNER EXPERTISE
AN ONLINE ED-TECH PLATFORM DELIVERING FREE EDUCATION TO ALL
Since 2008 Cool has supported 3.2 million students through free teaching resources and online professional development for their 200,000 educator and parent/carer members. They are a leading education not-for-profit, who is shifting the dial on social, environmental and economic issues by upskilling teachers to embed real-world concepts into their core subject areas. COOL.ORG (formerly Cool Australia) has a mission to develop and share real-world, curriculum-aligned teaching resources that equip teachers to teach the stuff that matters, creating better outcomes for humanity.
Mahnee Cooke is an Education Project Lead at Cool.org. She has a passion for Science and engaging and informative Science and Sustainability education. Mahnee has experience teaching Chemistry, Science and Mathematics in Secondary schools and a degree in Forensic Science which has provided her with the inspiration to use her education and skills to create teaching resources that matter, for the educators who need them.
OUR EXPERT INSIGHT COLLABORATORS
36 INTERVIEWS, 38 EXPERTS, 35 ORGANISATIONS
To develop a global resource like Closing The E-Loop there are so many people involved who have been extremely generous with their time and expertise. We’d like to provide a specific mention to all of the organisations we collaborated with during the interview production. An amazing illustration of multi-stakeholder collaboration:
ORIGINS ON CLOSING THE E-LOOP
This global version of Closing The E-Loop had many key learnings from an original course that our team created in collaboration with Cleanaway, an Australian based resource recovery organisation, and specifically with their kNOw Waste education team that run in-class workshop sessions.
Our face-to-face version of the course is available in Australia by contacting the kNOw Waste team.
The in-class content of Closing The E-Loop is a 60 minute workshop that provides a toolkit of resources, including:
PRE-WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES
that provide important background information for students and teachers, including a resource hub of additional reference material.
IN-CLASS WORKSHOP AND CONTENT
is delivered by an expert team to explain the issues relating to the e-waste crisis and a range of solutions that enable students to become changemakers.
AFTER-CLASS POSTER ACTIVITY
concludes this learning module and allows students to design their own sustainable solution, share knowledge and drive action to reduce e-waste.
OUR RESOURCE RECOVERY PARTNER EXPERTISE
IN-CLASS EDUCATION FOR AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS
Cleanaway’s Senior Education Officer, Charlotte Landini, has provided support in creating this module by utilising her experience as a qualified classroom Teacher and Education Officer for Cleanaway. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Natural Science and a Master of Teaching (Secondary) which allows her to bring the message of sustainable waste management and resource recovery to the next generation.
Find out more about Closing The E-Loop workshops by contacting Cleanaway’s kNOw Waste Education Team on education.nsw@cleanaway.com.au
- The school workshop may be available for free in your LGA, contact Cleanaway kNOw Waste Team to learn more.
LEARN AND SHARE
One of the key objectives of Closing The E-Loop is to develop changemakers who can make a real difference. A large part of that is sharing knowledge and collaborating with others. Make sure to follow our YouTube channel for more sustainable solutions, visit Comsol's and Cleanaway's social channels and hashtag #closingtheeloop.
◦ Closing The Loop webpage at COOL.ORG
◦ Comsol's YouTube channel
◦ Cleanaway's YouTube channel
Make sure to tag us, COOL.ORG and Cleanaway into any solutions that you share online too!
TECHNOLOGY | ENVIRONMENT | COMMUNITY
For us, it is about accountability to People, Planet and Business