40+ Action Tips to Make an Impact

Youth
ACTIVISM
Teens Against E-waste
and Our Quest to Collect
1 Million Batteries
to Save the Planet

JOSHUA E. LOU
 What people are saying about
Youth Activism: Teens Against E-waste

“A very inspirational account of how a student overcame the daunting task of

moving from an idea to a successful project. Joshua Lou has distilled, in his book,
many of the lessons that successful entrepreneurs only learn over time. I have no
doubt that Joshua’s indomitable spirit will motivate and encourage others to
pursue their ideas.”

—Mark Waldman, former mayor of La Palma, California, USA

“To the point and inspiring! Youth Activism shows our youngsters that they do not
have to feel powerless in this world. It offers a blueprint for meaningful action and
‘walks the talk’ with the Teens Against E-waste student-led nonprofit.”

—Dr. Fadi Saibi, co-founder and CTO, Artemis Networks

“In this book, Joshua detailed his journey from recognizing e-waste problems at
the personal level to forming Teens Against E-waste and expanding its impact with
more than 40 branches globally. What an ambitious goal with the 1 million
batteries (1MB) campaign! What an inspiring milestone when the web counter
ticked over 100,000 recycled batteries! As a technologist, it is most reassuring to
see youth take bold initiatives to care for the after-life of technology waste. As a
mother, it is most hopeful to see young generations take massive and steadfast
action to care for Mother Earth and for a brighter future!”

—Dr. Leilei Song, wireless system architect, Apple Inc.

“Youth Activism is increasingly important, and with so many issues facing us, now
is the time to act. This campaign is making a huge difference and motivating other
youth to find a passion project and act on it. Thank you for including us in your
journey!”

—Jimena Galvan, community impact senior manager, Jamboree

Housing Corporation, a nonprofit partner organization of TAE
“What an impact that young Joshua Lou is making by educating and encouraging
his peers to think globally and responsibly about this battery recycling issue.
Joshua has a real knack for connecting bigger events with the everyday struggles of
a child keeping a clean room. Creating a campaign and enabling other students to
form their own branches and become leaders as well is an amazing concept.”

—Dr. Christina Bauer, professor of environmental

science and chemistry, Whittier College

“Joshua Lou inspired me with the story of his journey. In his book, Youth Activism:
Teens Against E-waste, he captured my interest, particularly through the action
tips. This book has encouraged me to tackle e-waste and make a big change in the
world.”

—Bryan Huang, 8th grade, San Diego, California, USA

“As a teen, it is so inspiring to see others my age accomplish amazing things like
this. Youth Activism: Teens Against E-waste shows just how far you can go if you
set your mind to it and is a must-read for anyone looking for a sign to follow their
dreams.”

—Amelia Halverson, 10th grade, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

YOUTH ACTIVISM

TEENS AGAINST E-WASTE

AND
OUR QUEST TO COLLECT
1 MILLION BATTERIES
TO SAVE THE PLANET

Joshua E. Lou
 Copyright © 2022 Joshua E. Lou

All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be produced,

redistributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying and recording, or other electronic or mechanical
methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews
and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
For permission request, write to the publisher at
teens.against.ewaste@gmail.com.

Joshua E. Lou

First Edition, July 2022

Published in the United States of America
 Table of Contents

Foreword

1 Introduction
2 Investigate: How it All Began
3 Take the First Step: The Seniors
4 Pilot Run: School Recycling Event
5 Educate: Why Batteries
6 Expand Your Efforts: District-wide E-waste Collection Event
7 Overcome Challenges: Failure in Spreading to Other Schools
8 Establish a Leadership Structure: Scaling up with TAE Branches
9 Partner & Collaborate: TAE Stands United
10 Recognize Leaders: Achievements of TAE Branches
11 Inspiration for Future Action: Survey Stories

About the Author

Connect with Joshua Lou
 Foreword

“We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change
and the last generation who can do something about it.”
—Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States

G eneration Z alarmingly is inheriting massive social problems from global

warming to food insecurity to access to health care to exorbitant costs of
college tuition to housing to violence, and on and on. But I would argue the
greatest threat and catalyst for tectonic disruptions in society is the lack of
awareness and action about sustainable and regenerative approaches to reversing
and stabilizing global warming. This is the granddaddy of all social problems,
which, if not dealt with now, will have disastrous consequences for the world.
The author, Joshua Lou, is a young leader who has created a student-run
nonprofit organization called Teens Against E-waste, which aims to raise
awareness and take action to curb the destructive impact of e-waste, specifically
battery disposal, on our planet. He took advantage of our district’s many
opportunities, such as the Servathon and Steam-A-Palooza, to lead student leaders
to protect the environment and bring awareness to our schools and communities.
In addition, his One Million Batteries (1MB) campaign has collected and recycled
over 156,000 batteries with 500+ volunteers in four countries, a testament that
youth can accomplish grand feats.
Joshua’s book not only highlights how he strived to address the
monumental e-waste problem locally and globally but also teaches students about
youth activism. It is a rare book written from a student’s perspective based on his
personal experiences, offering numerous action tips that I believe will benefit
many other students. His stories reveal the diligence and courage it took to launch
the 1MB campaign, providing much inspiration and encouragement to young
people and proving that by taking ownership of the planet they are living in, they
can become a part of the next generation of change-makers.
I urge all teens (and adults) to get ahold of his book and learn how they can
take action right away. Our future is at stake.

Michael Matsuda
Superintendent
Anaheim Union High School District, CA
July 2022

Back to top
 1

Introduction

“You’re never too young to change the world.”

—Mari Copeny

I tried to pace myself to get to the red circle in the middle of the stage while
trying my best not to appear awkward. After what felt like hours, I reached the
carpet, stopped, and turned to face the audience of silhouettes in the auditorium.
Trying to prevent the sound of my shaky breath from magnifying through the mic,
I began my TEDx speech.

TEDx Talk: “WEEE Man” by Joshua Lou, 2022.

 “Did you know that each of us has our own WEEE Man? Yeah, I have one,
and you have one, too. Being 15, my WEEE Man isn’t very heavy or tall yet.
However, my parents’ WEEE Men are much taller than mine because
they’ve lived longer than me. You might ask, ‘what are you even talking
about?’
“Well, WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
The original WEEE Man, located in Cornwall, UK, was built in 2005 and is a
23-foot tall sculpture composed of various electronic waste, including
computers, fridges, and TVs. The purpose of the WEEE Man is to tangibly
illustrate just how much e-waste is produced by an average person in a
lifetime.”

I continued with my speech, one that I had practiced many times in

different places, from my own bedroom to my trek to school. So how did I get into
this position?
We are the generation born with an iPad in our hands. We learn how to
scroll before we can talk and swipe before we can walk. When Steve Jobs
envisioned a mobile app store on our phones, it allowed many new electronic
devices to be connected to our phones through inventions like Bluetooth or the
internet, making our lives easier and more fulfilling. As apps grew exponentially,
innovation, of course, became the name of the game as we constantly waited for
the next “big update” to be released. Back in the day, people lived with one landline
phone for their entire lives, and they were perfectly pleased with it, but today, we
have endless options, always wanting the newest and latest that Tim Cook, Jeff
Bezos, and Elon Musk have to offer us.
However, a critical issue that has come along is electronic waste, or e-waste,
the world’s fastest-growing waste stream. According to the Global E-waste Monitor
2020, e-waste is generated at a growth rate of 4% per year. However, its global
recycling rate is only 17.4% overall and even lower than 10% for small e-waste such
as used mobile phones.
 We all have unused electronics lying around in our homes, collecting dust.
In my home, I saw two iPhones, two Samsung Galaxy, and three Palm Treo
smartphones inside one of my parent’s desk drawers. I began to wonder why we
didn’t donate or sell them for a profit so that other people can reuse these devices.
The statistics show that millennials will generate 8.5 tons of e-waste per person in
our lifetime—twice the weight of a killer whale. That’s insane!
E-waste is a real thing, and few people seem to be talking about it. This
book is an earnest effort to start the conversation so that our generation is more
mindful of the technologies we will create when we are older. Of course, I’m not
here to say we should give up on technology, but I think engineers can focus on
making electronics more sustainable rather than needing to be replaced a year or
two later. There’s also a role for us, the people, to do much more to curb the
damage we inflict on the planet.

Only 17.4% of e-waste was recycled in 2019, according to the

Global E-waste Monitor 2020. Source: ewastemonitor.info.

Back to top
 2

Investigate: How it All Began

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

—Albert Einstein

W hen I was ten, the greatest responsibility I held was to clean my room
before bed. I, of course, reluctantly obeyed for fear of getting another
lecture. Cleanliness is next to godliness, my mother would say. When I was 14, I
looked around me and found a world riddled with trash, the result of people
refusing to clean up after themselves. How frustrating it must be for Mother Earth
to watch her children make a mess of the natural wonders of the world that she
generously provides us.
I was one of those students who once were apathetic to the ways in which
humans have destroyed the earth, thinking, “Man, that sucks; maybe Elon Musk
can fix that.” I knew things should be recycled, but the one-hour drive to and from
the collection center seemed too much of a hassle. After seeing how astronomical
the scale of the problem was compared to what I could do, I felt like my
contribution was only removing a water droplet while the problem continued to
grow at a scale of a tsunami. What I do won’t matter. So why bother?

A Turning Point
 In early 2020, the pandemic led to the shutdown of schools worldwide.
Isolated in my own room and unsatisfied with the slow pace of online learning, I
started taking multiple college courses in environmental and earth sciences in the
summer and fall semesters of that year and found them fascinating. As the
pandemic raged on, in February 2021, I came upon Bill Gates’ new book, “How to
Avoid a Climate Disaster.” Feeling that my eyes were opened, I finished the book in
just two days! The book amazed me and completely changed the way I viewed the
world. Resourcefulness. Sustainability. Repurposing. Suddenly, these words held
meaning in my personal dictionary.
I started browsing websites and YouTube videos, and my attention was
caught on this pressing issue of e-waste (defined as “discarded products with a
battery or plug”). It seemed odd that given how many electronics the world
produces (54 million tonnes just in 2019!), there was very little talk about it and
very little effort to combat e-waste in America and in other parts of the world.
I decided to investigate the issue of e-waste by conducting thorough
literature research. One academic article after another, I learned the severe
consequences of e-waste on resource sustainability, environmental conservation,
and human health. For example, gold, silver, platinum, and other recoverable
resources being dumped or burned each year are valued at 57 billion dollars,
greater than most countries’ GDP! And for every one million laptops recycled, the
energy saved would be equivalent to the electricity used by more than 3,600 U.S.
homes in a given year.
I was curious about why people didn’t recycle e-waste and how we could
motivate people to do so. I went on to review more literature articles and learned
about many interesting determinants (factors) that influenced human behavior
intention for e-waste recycling. Some of these determinants included people’s
sentimental attachment to their devices, data security concerns, awareness of e-
waste recycling, convenience for recycling, economic incentives, and how-to
knowledge. I also learned that successful intervention strategies and policy designs
should address as many as these behavior intention determinants.
 Teens Against E-waste

For the first time, I felt a need to step up and do something. Without
knowing the outcome or whether my ideas would completely flop but realizing I
needed a space to execute all my ideas under one name, I decided to found a
nonprofit organization called Teens Against E-waste (TAE). The first thing I did
after setting up its website was to write down my mission: “Teens Against E-waste
aims to raise public awareness of the pressing issue of e-waste, take action towards
a greener planet, and engage teenage leaders due to our strong belief in youth
activism.” I then created educational sections called “Learn,” “Action,” and “Blogs,”
and started writing research-based background knowledge, tips, and stories
regarding e-waste.

Screenshot of part of the TAE homepage. Source: teensagainstewaste.org.

Logo designed by Joshua Lou and created by Joseph Chen.

During the summer of 2021, when the long-awaited Tokyo Olympics finally
arrived, I was thrilled to learn that for the first time in Olympic history, all 5,000
Tokyo Olympic medals were made out of recycled electronics! To accomplish such
a feat, Japan had initiated a two-year Tokyo 2020 Medal Project that collected
nearly 80,000 tons of e-waste, including 6.21 million mobile phones. Seeing this
incredible effort, it hit me just how much we as a society could do with a bit more
effort. As I continued to watch videos and read news articles, I decided to create a
TAE YouTube channel. Since then, I have produced many documentary YouTube
videos, including “Olympic Gold Medals From Recycled Phones?,” “Your E-waste:
How BIG is Your WEEE Man?,” and “Recyclers or Exporters? GPS Tracks Where
U.S. E-waste Goes.”

Screenshot of the YouTube channel videos posted on the TAE website.

Source: teensagainstewaste.org.

By now, I had conducted research, made an educational website, created a

YouTube channel, and even made a phone-reselling app called $ellPhone.
However, despite many of my ideas and efforts, I felt unsure that I could make a
real impact in the community, not knowing what I could do next.
One night, my parents and I were talking about probably setting up
collection boxes in nearby libraries to collect e-waste, such as cell phones, digital
cameras, CD players, and even wires and cables that were rich in recyclable copper.
When talking about used phones, my dad walked to one of his desk drawers and
pulled out multiple phones we had used from all different years.
 He vividly explained to me how each of those phones was purchased, used,
and replaced, clearly treating every phone as an invaluable memory. He especially
pointed out an old Palm phone Treo 650 (the second one in the top row). He
bought it for $550 and sold it for $150 after two years. But he missed that model so
much that he purchased another used Treo 650 on eBay a few months later just to
keep. From then on, he “learned his lesson” and has been saving all his used
phones into his “collection.”

“Collection” of our used phones.

Then I recalled what I read in the literature review about people’s

“sentimental attachment” to their devices resulting in stockpiling at home—my
dad’s case really proved it to be real—especially with small devices that were just so
easy to be stored away at home. Suppose I just set up collection boxes in the
libraries. Would people be willing to let go of their mementos no matter how
outdated they may be? I asked this question to my dad whether he would be willing.
He hesitated for a while and said, “probably not.” The library collection box idea
might not work.
 Batteries?

Still wanting to get more ideas for my potential project, I turned to the all-
knowing Google and entered “e-waste recycling” into the search bar. Like manna
falling from heaven, the perfect opportunity appeared halfway down the results
page: America Recycles Day (ARD), a national environmental awareness holiday
on November 15th, 2021.
Given that there were still a couple of weeks left until that day, and it
sounded interesting, I started to dig for ARD volunteering and service ideas.
Eventually, I was led to the website of my county’s recycling department. When I
called them to ask what they would be doing for ARD, they told me that they would
host a recycling pledging contest on social media.
To aid their efforts, I made a promotion flyer and emailed it to 50 school
principals to broadcast to their student bodies and school communities. My own
school’s principal was the first one who replied and got the ARD contest event
announced in our school’s weekly newsletters!
When I reported back to the recycling department with my efforts, the
public communications officer replied, “We’re always impressed by young leaders
like yourself who help promote green efforts within the community. I would like to
send you some battery collection buckets to help with your continued efforts.”
Batteries?
I’d never heard anyone collect batteries before, so I was a little skeptical. I
searched around my home to see if it would even be possible to find dead batteries.
Surprisingly, I found 99 used batteries in all kinds of places: random drawers, a
few on the counters, and in the garage, some of which already looked nasty with
acid leakage! With so many batteries I had no knowledge about in my house, I was
fully convinced and felt compelled to take action.
In recalling my research about recycling behavior determinants, collecting
batteries seemed more practical than collecting used cell phones and laptops.
Obviously, people wouldn’t have a sentimental attachment to their dead batteries!
Data security concerns wouldn’t apply either. Even better, by collecting used
batteries, I could hopefully increase people’s awareness and knowledge regarding
e-waste recycling as well. It sounded like a very promising project!
I accepted the offer from the recycling department and received 25 nicely
designed battery collection buckets a few days later. Over the next few days, I
assembled the battery collection buckets at home, taped my phone number on the
buckets so people could text me when the buckets were filled, and planned my
bucket drop-off route. I was now ready to begin my battery-collection journey!

Receiving battery collection buckets, the start of my journey.

Food for Thought & Action Tips

1. What makes you tick when it comes to world issues? What gets your blood
boiling enough for you to roll out of bed and do something about it?
2. Although your impact as just one individual may seem small, if you get the
ball rolling, people will often be more willing to join you than you think.
 3. Investigate a cause to learn what you can do about it. The literature review is
a powerful way to gain accurate and data-based insights into the current
situations and develop research-informed projects.
4. Keep trying different ideas, and do not give up. It may not seem like it, but
the work you do will eventually pay off!
5. Don’t be afraid to contact local organizations if you have questions about an
issue or have an idea for a project. Not everyone will respond, but those who
do will often respond with enthusiasm.

Back to top
 3

Take the First Step: The Seniors

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to take

the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
—Martin Luther King Jr.

W hen America Recycles Day finally approached, it was time to drop off the
battery buckets in my neighborhood for collections! Right after I got out of
school, I started with a local phone repair shop and introduced the idea of
collecting batteries from their customers. The shop owner said he would take the
bucket, but it might take a few months just to get the bucket half-filled because he
was mainly just replacing the glass screens of phones. With the bucket only having
a dimension of 7.5 by 7.5 inches, I was a little discouraged, but I kept going (my
efforts proved to be helpful—he ended up texting me to pick up the collected
batteries only one month later).
The next places I stopped by were a library and a senior center. Sadly, the
managers in both places declined my idea. The library manager said they had
never had this before and that they did not know the procedures for doing such a
collection. The senior center manager said they already had a battery recycling
program. But when I asked them how they collected batteries, they said they had a
blue bin somewhere at the back of their office (the bin was not even visible to their
visitors).
 Seeing my disappointment, the manager told me to try it at the senior
apartment next door. I suspected I wouldn’t have much luck there either, but I
thought I might as well give it a go. My mom pulled our van over to the semi-circle
next to the entrance of the senior apartment. I hopped out to knock on the door of
the manager’s office, feeling that this might be a waste of my time. A while later, an
old gentleman opened the door and introduced himself as Richie. After a brief
introduction, I started explaining to him the idea of collecting used batteries.
Once I mentioned the purpose of my visit, he exclaimed, “We have been
waiting for you!” He turned around, quickly walked to his closet, brought out four
full plastic bags of batteries, and earnestly handed them to me. We had only known
each other for a minute and a half, and I was already getting over 200 batteries he
had accumulated from the seniors in his apartment complex! Now filled with
optimism, I thanked him profusely and left him with an empty battery bucket with
my phone number on it, not knowing that he would call me just three days later
because he had to change batteries in all the smoke detectors in his complex and
thus completely filled the bucket!
Many seniors were environmentally conscious. People who lived through
relatively tough times tend to be more frugal, going as far as to reuse Ziploc bags
by washing and reusing them until they fell apart. So it was no surprise that many
put aside their used batteries instead of discarding them in the trash. However,
driving to battery collection centers might be too inconvenient for seniors who
couldn’t move about as easily as young people. This was where we came in!
On my second visit to Richie to pick up the filled bucket, I asked whether he
knew other senior apartment managers I could contact. Right away, he printed out
a whole page of the manager list and especially pointed out someone named Kathy,
the manager of a nearby senior apartment on the same street.
Kathy was thrilled when she saw me come in with a battery bucket. She was
a very bright and kind person, saying, “Sorry that I don’t have a golden carpet for
you right now!” She kindly offered to talk to the managers of another two senior
apartments so that they could combine all their batteries for us to pick up in one
trip.
Ten days later, Kathy texted me: “We have a lotta batteries for you!”
Surprised but excited, I rushed to her office right after school. She told me that she
had added “Collecting Old Batteries…drop items off in the office” in her newsletter
to the local seniors. As a result, many seniors dropped them off outside her office—
a grand total of 861 in just 10 days! While Kathy and I were talking, another senior
walked by and noticed me, saying, “Oh, was it you who were collecting used
batteries? Great job!”

Picking up batteries from Kathy, a senior apartment manager.

Back at home, counting these batteries and seeing their careful packaging
(batteries nicely packaged, their terminals carefully taped to prevent fires, etc.), I
was incredibly happy that I was able to help them accomplish their recycling
endeavors.
This motivated me to keep placing more battery collection buckets in
different locations, including nearby community centers and tutoring centers (a
manager commented, “It’s a cool project”). Among the eight places I visited during
the first week of distributing buckets, six of them accepted my buckets with thanks
and compliments. As a result, within the first two weeks, I had collected 1,488
batteries.
As I counted and logged the numbers of collected batteries, I became more
and more excited. After having been advocating for the issue of e-waste under my
organization Teens Against E-waste, I finally had a concrete project that I could
use to take action and even have other people participate in.
Looking at these batteries, I thought to myself, “We might be able to collect
a million batteries!” One million might sound intimidating, but if each household
donates 100 batteries or each senior apartment donates 1,000, reaching one
million batteries would be achievable, considering the speed at which we were
going!
I needed a good name to promote this project, and naturally, “One Million
Batteries” came to my mind! 1MB—such a cool name! This would be the first
campaign launched by Teens Against E-waste!

Screenshot of part of the 1MB homepage. Source: onemillionbatteries.org.

 Logo designed by Joshua Lou and created by Joseph Chen.

During the first two weeks of my journey, I had received overwhelming

comments such as, “I’m so thrilled you guys are doing this! I have a lot of used
batteries, but I don’t know what to do with them.” I was initially drawn to the
concept of collecting batteries only because I saw that there were a lot of used
batteries lying around in my home. However, little did I realize just how much
others were storing batteries as well. Just like me, people were storing them at
home because they didn’t know what to do with them!
By founding the 1MB campaign, my goals were to not only recycle one
million used household batteries but also increase public awareness about the
what-tos and how-tos regarding e-waste, engage hundreds of student volunteers,
and plant seeds for the next generation to care for a sustainable earth.

Time since 1MB started: 2 weeks

Battery count: 1,488

Food for Thought & Action Tips

1. Have you considered taking the first step? Dreams are not meant to stay a
fantasy. Take the initiative and reach your goal one step at a time.
2. Start something! It doesn’t need to be a campaign, but it could simply be a
 phrase, motto, or hashtag. Make the solution yours, and then spread it to
others!
3. Take baby steps. It’s important to feel the water before you jump in.
4. Do not fear failure. You may feel frustrated at first, but remember that
learning comes from failure.
5. Hold on to all the encouragement that you receive—don’t just say thank you
and put it aside. Use it to boost yourself when you face any challenges.

Back to top
 4

Pilot Run: School Recycling Event

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than
the long range risks of comfortable inaction.”
—John F. Kennedy

“I am going to run a school event to collect batteries,” I told my family at the

dining table on a Thursday evening with new determination and was met
with a row of skeptical faces. My mom cautioned me, asking, “What if there aren’t
many people participating? If you fail, you will lose face in front of the entire
school.” I thought for a little while and replied, “Well, Mark Zuckerberg said ‘the
biggest risk is not taking any risk,’ right?”

Proposal and Preparation

The same evening, I sent out an email to my Environmental Conservation

Organization (ECO) club’s co-presidents and club advisor, Mr. Michelotti. I
presented my detailed proposal of a schoolwide Battery Recycling Event using the
last two weeks of the fall semester. I also included a timeline for pre-event
preparation and post-event prize distribution. To make it more visual and
appealing, I even attached a photo of my battery collection bucket and told them
that I would get more of these buckets so we would have enough for all
homerooms.
 I ended by writing, “We could use this event as a pilot run, and if it goes well,
then we can make it a regular year-round event (like the cans and water bottles
recycling that we have on Thursdays).”

Photo of the battery collection bucket attached to my proposal.

I was reaching out to see if I could leverage help from the ECO club where I
served as the publicist. A schoolwide event was intimidating, to say the least, and
something that I could not accomplish alone. Thankfully, one of the co-presidents
promptly replied in the early morning of the next day. “This sounds like a great
idea! If you would like, feel free to work with other board members for this project.”
Half an hour later, Mr. Michelotti also confirmed: “I see no issues with battery
recycling. Approved!”
Two hours later, I found myself sitting in the principal’s office, answering
questions from both the principal and assistant principal. At that time, I was not
the type of kid to go out and just talk to a group of adults, especially if they were
the school administrators. Nonetheless, I mustered enough courage and tried my
best to sell my idea clearly and convincingly.
Thankfully, they both liked the event and called it a “wonderful idea!” They
approved everything and informed me of the steps I needed to follow to plan the
event on campus. It was already the Friday before Thanksgiving break. The event
would start immediately after the break, but I still had five signatures to collect for
paperwork. I had to hurry, but luckily, everyone I talked to was very supportive.
The following holiday break became a busy week of planning and preparing.
I realized that collecting one million batteries sounded crazy, but I wanted people
to know that if we pushed together, we could do it. I needed to up the stakes by
offering an incentive teenagers could not refuse: free food! The students at my
school in particular loved the boba milk tea that was occasionally sold during
fundraisers after school. The length of the line in front of these fundraising booths
would shock you.
After thinking carefully, I thought of prizes on two different levels: the
homeroom level and the individual level. The top homeroom that donated the
most batteries would get a pizza party, while the top 20 students would receive
boba. The homeroom prize would be a fun competition to motivate the entire
group of students in the same homeroom to collectively reach a common goal, and
the individual award would encourage students to do their best regardless of how
other students in the homeroom act.
There were so many other details that I had to take care of, such as making
promotion flyers, writing announcement scripts, taping donation instructions to
all collection buckets, and making a Google Sheet to assign ECO volunteers and
pre-labelled buckets to each homeroom. That was a busy Thanksgiving break!

Donation instructions used for the buckets.

 Assembling battery collection buckets.

Execution

After a whole week of planning and coordinating with my fellow ECO board
members, I finally launched the Battery Recycling Event at my school. On
December 1st, the ECO board members sent each bucket to a homeroom, while the
school broadcasting system streaming live during the homeroom period
announced the start of the event. The board members also introduced the event to
the homeroom teachers just in case some were not paying attention to the live
announcement.
Every day during the following two weeks of the event, I found myself busy
composing and sending more emails to various groups of students and adults in
order to keep advertising the event through all possible channels:
 Sending reminders via school newsletters
 Making broadcasting announcements repetitively with my flyer projected
on the TV screen in each single homeroom
 Sending the Associated Student Body (ASB) representatives to all
homerooms to verbally remind students of the event
  Taping flyers all around campus
 Passing out flyers to parents when they dropped off their kids in the
mornings

ECO club volunteers with the principal and assistant principal

on the first day of the event.

On December 15th, the ECO board members would be sent out again to
retrieve the buckets and bags from all homerooms. The night before, I was
nervously sitting in front of my computer and considering whether I should send
an email to call for an extension of the battery drive. I had no confidence in the
collection results. I had heard from some board members that they did not see
many batteries in their homerooms. I believed it because the battery bucket in my
own homeroom was still almost empty (besides the batteries I donated).
But if I extended the drive, it would go into winter break and into the
beginning of the spring semester in January. It would cause too much
inconvenience and confusion to many people. I finally decided I shouldn’t make
the change at the last minute. “After all, it’s only a pilot run. It’s okay if we fail,” I
comforted myself and went to bed, leaving the big question of what to expect
tomorrow.

Results

At last, it was the final collection day! The 10 ECO board members had only
20 minutes of the homeroom period to collect the buckets and bags from all 39
homerooms. I waited with bated breath as the homeroom period approached,
worried we would see nothing but empty buckets, but the results blew me away!
Even today, I still remember the buzzing atmosphere of students and
volunteers rushing back and forth, bringing in buckets after buckets and bags after
bags of batteries to the collection corner on our campus. Everyone was shocked to
see so many batteries (we counted 12,288)!

Volunteers with some of the batteries collected on the event’s last day.

One student from the winning homeroom later described as follows in a

post-event survey: “The student who came to collect our batteries was shocked at
the amount that our homeroom collected! She even had to [go back to the school
office and] bring in a cart to carry all of them. It was also the first time that our
homeroom had won a schoolwide competition, so it was a special accomplishment
for us!”
A teacher stopped by the collection corner and told us that she didn’t have a
homeroom to participate in the battery drive, but a student came to her asking for
her own used batteries. As a result, she brought a lot of batteries from her home
and gave them to the student to donate under the student’s name. When other
students learned about it, they started requesting other teachers around the
campus to do the same for them!
A lot of other fun stories were told and shared about the event. The office
staff also told me that the policeman who patrolled our campus heard about our
battery drive and also brought batteries from his own home and left them with the
front office. Below are some survey responses from individual winners:
 “We’ve been storing them for over 5-7 years but didn’t know what to do with
them.”
 “The event was really fun to participate in.”
 “I saw that a 7th grader had 400+ batteries, and I was either going to beat
that or die trying.”
 “My mom was way too excited about how many batteries we had collected.”
 “We had accumulated a lot of used batteries at home and didn’t know how
or where to recycle them, and this event provided me with a way to recycle
the batteries.”
The winning homeroom was from 7th grade (our school is a 7-12th grade
school) and ended up collecting 2,909 used batteries, with an average of 75
batteries per student! Because of the pandemic, the pizza party was hosted
outdoors, and masks and gloves were required for all serving volunteers.
Nevertheless, the students were thrilled to win and contribute to battery recycling.
The top 20 individual winners also got their boba milk tea prizes.
 I also handed out a post-event survey to understand student motives for
recycling batteries and collect stories from behind the scenes. The survey results
are reported in the last chapter of this book.
Now looking at the piles of batteries on my garage floor, I felt so empowered!
I’d never seen so many batteries in a variety of sizes, colors, and forms in my life.
Without our collection event, all 700+ pounds of these batteries would have ended
up in landfills, contaminating our land and water. To think that this was all just
from one school, especially one that only had about 1,200 students, was absolutely
mind-blowing. I was so glad I took the risk and decided to run the event!

Distributing the boba prizes to the top 20 student winners.

Time since 1MB started: 1 month

Battery count: 13,776
 Food for Thought & Action Tips

1. Never be afraid to reach out to propose your idea. Your principal could be
the first person who says, “What a wonderful idea!”
2. Launch a pilot run at a small scale (e.g., a schoolwide event) to test the
feasibility of your idea and find any holes or inefficiencies in your execution.
Make corrections for larger events in the future based on the results.
3. You don’t have to work all alone. Find a like-minded club or organization
and offer to collaborate. You will often be able to benefit from their resources
and solid foundations, and they will benefit from a fresh face with bold ideas.
4. Present a well-developed plan to make it seem achievable for your audience.
If the plan sounds unreasonable or vague, people will be hesitant to help.
5. Offer incentives on both an individual and collective level to maximize
results.

Back to top
 5

Educate: Why Batteries

“If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.”
—Margaret Fuller

I sought the advice of Dr. Christina Bauer, professor of environmental science

and chemistry at Whittier College, to get feedback on this book. Her words
inspired me to pursue 1MB with even greater fervor:

“As we move to greener and transportable energy solutions, batteries are

becoming even more important than ever. They are ubiquitous to many of
our energy sources either as the main power supply (i.e., Tesla, phones) or
for storage (i.e., solar cells). What makes batteries so special is that they can
be recycled and refurbished for reuse. We can’t unburn gas or oil, but we
can take apart a spent battery and put the pieces back together again. Yet, so
many end up in landfills and don’t make their journey back to new batteries.
When we recycle our batteries, we can stop e-waste pollution and prevent
the original form of pollution—the energy used for mining the resources.”

The more I learn about the issue of batteries, the more I realize that
knowledge is power. The general public is unaware of this critical matter of battery
recycling, and I feel motivated to spread the message that batteries can be reused
over and over again.
 The Shocking Number of Batteries in Landfills

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans

discard three billion batteries annually (300 times the weight of a blue whale),
which accounts for around 20% of all household hazardous waste dumped in
America’s landfills. Let that sink in. Twenty percent of all hazardous materials in
landfills, and it’s something that we don’t even give a second thought. Situations
regarding batteries go a little something like this:
You’re sitting at your computer, frantically working on homework due in an
hour, or intensely playing an online game with friends. Suddenly, your wireless
mouse dies. With a tinge of annoyance, you get up from your chair and start
searching for new batteries you may have lying around. You finally find some and
quickly switch them with the dead ones. In a hurry to go back to whatever you were
doing before your mouse died, you subconsciously leave the used batteries there in
a random place.
See, batteries appear so insignificant that they tend to get lost in the jungle
of our bedrooms. When we do find them sitting on a desk, no questions are asked
about whether they should be recycled or not. “It’s too small, and I only have a few
in my hand right now. It won’t hurt to throw them away.” Right?
What we also forget is just how many batteries we consume. Whether used
for computer mice, smoke detectors, remote controls, or kitchen gadgets, batteries
are more commonplace than you think. However, if not handled properly, masses
of used batteries can become serious hazards to the environment. I didn’t realize
how hazardous batteries were until I really investigated it.

The Frightening Impact of Contamination

So what happens if batteries continue to be dumped into landfills? Well,

batteries contain many corrosive materials and heavy metals, such as mercury,
cadmium, lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and lead. It can be surprising to learn
how such a small object can decay and leak hazardous chemicals in landfills,
enabling an entire body of groundwater to be undrinkable or the soil, surface water,
and air to be contaminated.
Many of us have seen old batteries with leaking chemicals. Just imagine
drinking water contaminated by those! The contaminated water from disposed
batteries will cause serious health problems: cadmium causes kidney diseases;
copper brings liver damage and gastric-related problems; lead has been linked to
birth defects and to neurological and developmental damage. Water is consumed
by everyone, but it is especially harmful to pregnant mothers who could give birth
to babies with deformities. Even children can be affected and develop conditions
such as spina bifida or cleft lip if they continue to drink the contaminated water.
As batteries corrode, the heavy metals, especially lead, leak into the soil and
air. There is no safe level of exposure to lead. What makes matters even worse is
that lead damages almost every part of the body. Researchers conducted studies on
the lead soil contamination resulting from unregulated battery disposal and
recycling, especially in poor and developing countries.

A father whose child died of lead poison holds the lead extracted
from a used car battery. Source: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
 According to a study by Yale University in 2020, at least 18 children died in
just three months from brain diseases caused by severe lead pollution in Dakar, a
city in Africa. With no or little pollution control, local people had been breaking
apart car batteries and sifting through the contaminated sand for valuable lead to
sell. As a result, they inhaled lead dust and, especially with children playing
through their hand-to-mouth activities, ingested lead. The lead pollution
permanently impaired children’s neurological development and intellect and even
caused death.
Toxins are also released into the air when batteries are burned in waste
incinerators and can cause respiratory health issues and even contribute to global
warming. Since many used batteries still contain a lot of energy, they could also
cause landfill fires that can burn underground for years. Because of this fire, toxic
materials in other garbage, not just batteries, are also released and contaminate
the air we breathe.

Dead fish float in heavily contaminated water.

Source: helpsavenature.com.
 Not only does battery pollution affect humans, but it also harms animals.
Unlike humans who have access to sanitized and treated drinking water, animals
are directly exposed to the contaminated water and air and thus much more
vulnerable to pollution. For example, in December 2018, a water treatment
company in Peterborough, U.K., accidentally leaked untreated sewer water into a
river. Although the leakage lasted only a few hours before it was reported and
stopped, 2,400 fish, including some critically endangered species, were killed.

Political Efforts to Responsibly Reuse Batteries

Knowing all the facts behind the hazards of batteries, I wondered why the
government wasn’t doing more to regulate how hazardous e-waste items are
disposed of. Currently, in California, New York, and Vermont, for example, it’s
actually illegal to throw household batteries away in the trash or recycling bin.
However, no one seems to even know about this law—even I had to do some
research until I finally found out about this on Call2Recycle by chance. There is no
enforcement behind the law, no punishment, or even a reminder to avoid throwing
away batteries in the trash.
On the one hand, we are told not to throw away used batteries but recycle
them; on the other hand, there are no convenient venues provided for residents to
recycle batteries. While there are residential recycling bins for papers, water
bottles, and soda cans, batteries are not allowed to be placed in them. In Orange
County, California, with a population of three million, there are only four battery
collection centers where people can drop off their used batteries. From what I can
gather, there is a huge gap between the policy and the feasibility of putting the law
into practice, which seems to require an urgent call for action from our local
leaders.

“Can Batteries be Recycled?”

 What is more concerning is the lack of knowledge and awareness about
battery recycling. I remember that on the final collection day of my school’s battery
drive, a teacher asked me, “Can batteries be recycled? Don’t they just go to
landfills?” I had heard the same question repeatedly from different people, some of
whom were even enthusiastic volunteers of 1MB.
The answer is definitely yes; batteries are recyclable! In fact, “up to 90% of
the materials in batteries can be recycled” (Panasonic-batteries.com). The EU has
been taking the lead in implementing battery recycling regulations through the
“Batteries Directive” since 2006, mandating the collection and recycling
requirements for all batteries. In Belgium, as much as 61% of all their used
batteries were recycled in 2017. A battery recycling community called Eucobat,
consisting of 25 organizations from 19 EU countries so far, has also been offering
free-of-charge services to collect and transport used batteries to be recycled.
So what exactly happens to recycled batteries? Batteries first go through a
series of separation processes, including chemical separation (to dismantle the
materials in the batteries using chemical solutions), mechanical separation (to
shred the batteries using brute force), and smelting (to extract metals from the
batteries by melting them at different high temperatures). Once separated out, the
materials from batteries are used to be recycled.
According to Call2Recycle, the largest and most reliable federal battery
recycling program in the United States, the recycled materials from used batteries
can be used to make new products, including sunscreen, stainless steel pans, golf
clubs, silverware, asphalt for roads, and of course, new batteries. I also recently
discovered a very interesting YouTube video titled “Recycled Batteries are Used to
Grow Delicious Corn,” which talks about the recycled zinc and manganese being
used to make micronutrient supplements for plant fertilizers to grow corns!
The infographic below also lists the reasons why batteries should be
recycled:
Infographic of battery recycling facts. Source: relionbattery.com.
 1MB—Translating Concerns into Awareness and Action

Due to the aforementioned issues, One Million Batteries (1MB) seemed like
a perfect opportunity to increase public awareness of battery recycling and take
action. This campaign was designed to aid people in becoming more
knowledgeable about the value of recycling batteries and how they can help.
On the homepage of the 1MB website, we made sure to add a section called
“Why Do We Do This?” We listed statistics, facts, why (“Why Batteries?”), what
(“What Happens to a Recycled Battery?”), and a few Read More links to lead
visitors to our detailed articles.

The section of “Why Do We Do This?” on the 1MB homepage.

Author credit: Amelia Halverson and Joshua Lou.

One important lesson I’ve learned through 1MB is “learning by doing.” I

realize that learning takes time, but if you wait until you know everything, it will be
far too late. I want to be clear that I did not become a battery expert overnight. In
fact, I am hardly one now. I am still learning new things about batteries and other
forms of e-waste. But the more I take action, the more I feel motivated to know the
facts. And in educating myself, I can inform others. This is the objective of 1MB
and TAE, to enlighten minds because the more we know, the more we feel
compelled to do something about it. From there, we learn as we go—as we develop
ideas, as we engage new people along the way, and as we make progress one step at
a time.

Food for Thought & Action Tips

1. Have you researched adequately about your subject? Do you have enough
facts to convince others about your cause?
2. Don’t wait until you know everything about an issue. That is not possible.
Instead, learn as you go and learn by doing. The time is now.
3. Make sure to educate your audience about the issue and emotionally connect
with them, such as presenting what would happen to them if your issue
persists in the future. They won’t be willing to be involved in the solution
unless they are motivated to do so.
4. Communicate with your teammates regarding why and how to increase
knowledge and awareness. Changing the world is not an individual task, so
educating others is crucial.

Back to top
 6

Expand Your Efforts:

District-wide E-waste Collection Event

“Don’t decrease the goal. Increase the effort.”

—Tom Coleman

W hile working with Dr. Cho, my school’s assistant principal, on the Battery
Recycling Event, I heard her mention that an e-waste recycling event was
organized at my school about five or six years ago. However, it was just a one-time
thing. Hearing this, I had a bold idea to host a district-wide E-waste Collection
Event not only to collect batteries but also all other types of e-waste, such as
televisions, computer monitors, and laptops. With more than 30,000 students and
families in our district community, I hope to expand my efforts and raise
awareness of the pressing issue of e-waste even further.

Leveraging a District-wide Servathon Event

On January 17, 2022, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, there was going to be a
district-wide event called the Servathon, where many schools in our district would
host service projects. So, after some coordination with Dr. Cho, it was official—
there was going to be an E-waste Collection Event located at our school parking lot,
where people from the entire district could drop off their e-waste free of charge.
 To secure a container for all the e-waste we would collect, I made multiple
calls to our local waste management company, Valley Vista. I was eventually
connected with the Chief Operating Officer, George Briggeman. Mr. Briggeman
was very supportive of our event and kindly managed to supply us with a walk-in
container 6 feet high, 8 feet wide, and 20 feet long!

A 40-cubic-yard roll-off container provided by Valley Vista for our event.

Unfortunately, Valley Vista specifically told us that they would not be able
to accept batteries because their facilities did not process batteries. Knowing how
much attention this district-wide event could garner, I still decided to collect
batteries on the side and later drop them off at the collection centers ourselves,
which later proved to be a good move.
The flyer I made to advertise the e-waste collection event.
 My Worries

The Servathon occurred on a heavily cloudy Saturday morning with a light

drizzling predicted in the forecast. I arrived at the school parking lot at 7:30 AM to
receive the container delivery by Valley Vista. Dr. Cho was also there, along with 16
student volunteers from the Raising Student Voice and Participation (RSVP) club,
ASB, and the ECO club, a great group of students who were willing to help with the
event.
I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about this event. It was drizzling, and we
were collecting electronics; water was the last thing we needed. Staring down into
the depths of the giant e-waste container twice the size of my bedroom, I was
pretty worried that the container might not even be filled to a single layer.
After all, the promotion flyer was emailed to local families only three days
before the event. There were some communication barriers with the district staff
that led to a delay, so I feared that families would not have had the time to gather
e-waste in their homes. Plus, this event was on a Saturday morning (8-11 AM)
when most people prefer to sleep in.
As for batteries, how many batteries will people bring in with just a 3-day
notice? The amount of batteries we collected from the past school event could have
been mere luck. Stewing in my worries, I came up with countless reasons why this
event would be a total disaster.

Shocked Once Again

Once again, I was seriously mistaken and shocked beyond belief. Even
before the event officially started at 8 AM, there were cars driving into the parking
lot and a dozen parents already lining up to give us their e-waste, some of whom
brought bags of batteries as well. One parent explained to me that since the flyer
said “first come first serve,” she was afraid if she came in late, we wouldn’t accept
her e-waste.
 Fortunately, the rain had stopped, and the Sun came out! Throughout the
next few hours, cars flooded into our parking lot one after another with no break.
People, young and old, handed us all kinds of e-waste. The volunteers took out the
devices from the opened car trucks and carried them to the container to be stacked
orderly to maximize the space.
Deeply astonished yet greatly inspired, the 16 of us hurried back and forth
between the cars and the container with no time for even a water break. One mom
got out of her car to help us carry her TV away. While she seemed hesitant to let go,
she told me, “I always wanted to get my TV repaired, but it would have cost me
$1,500. For that amount, I could just get a new TV.”

Volunteers helping to load e-waste into the container on the Servathon day.
 I didn’t even notice the time fly by until one student commented, “This is
insane! It’s only been two hours, and the container is already almost full.”
Seeing many cars still driving in, Dr. Cho, who was supervising our event,
advised us to close the container’s back door so we could toss the e-waste over the
side walls of the container. We then propped up a ladder and started an assembly
line, passing the e-waste to one another and tossing it over the container.
We were all eager to climb to the top of the container for some selfies to
post on social media. We also gathered together just to look at some ancient
devices we had never seen before, such as an old electronic sewing machine
embedded in a fancy wooden box.
Multiple people from Valley Vista also joined us, including Mrs. Briggeman
and their marketing team. Dr. Cho told them that our school would like to host
such an event annually for the Servathon for the years to come. I was thrilled to
overhear this!
More cars were still driving in when we had to close our event earlier than
11 AM because the container had become completely packed. I was sorry to send
away the late-comers with disappointed faces. We should get two containers in our
future events, I told myself.
As I was counting the newly collected batteries in the garage right after I got
home, Dr. Cho called me, saying that a reporter from the Orange County Register
just showed up after hearing about our event but missed the action. However, he
managed to take pictures of the completely filled container. The scene must have
impressed him so much that he mentioned it in his Orange County Register news
article as follows:

“Students…turned their day off into a day of volunteerism as they spent

Monday’s holiday helping out in the national day of service Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. inspired…Students collected enough e-waste to fill a giant
trash container.”
 A week later, Valley Vista got back to me and reported that the container
held 2.3 tons (4,600 pounds) of e-waste! “You guys did a great job!” They praised.

2.3 Tons of e-waste collected in less than three hours.

Photo credit: Jeff Gritchen from OC Register.

Seeing the massive response from the community, it dawned on me just

how monumental the problem of e-waste really was. It was one thing to know, but
seeing it right in front of you made the problem much more personal. Seeing that
so much could be collected in a short time proved to student volunteers and me
how much of a difference we could make with more collections in the future. It
boggled my mind that e-waste collections were not more widely available, making
me realize just how important it was for people like us to make the collections
more accessible to the public.
As for the batteries we collected on the side, we’d racked up 7,217 batteries
in just three hours! (At the same time, other 1MB volunteers from a nearby city—
see Chapter 8—collected roughly a thousand more batteries, bringing our total to
about twenty-two thousand.)

A small portion of the batteries collected during the event.

The picture above displays some of the batteries we collected during our
Servathon event. Notice the battery containers: a Folgers coffee container, juice
bottles, a metal tea canister, and even a DIY box. These were stored away in the
corners of homes, probably for a long time. Many people told us they didn’t want
to dispose of them in the trash but had no clue on where to recycle them. Our 1MB
initiative perfectly bridged this gap.

Time since 1MB started: 2 months

Battery count: 22,195 (+ 2.3 tons of e-waste)

Food for Thought & Action Tips

 1. Is there anything you or your family simply hasn’t gotten around to doing?
Other families most likely have the same problem. This is an opportunity for
you to step up and help!
2. Is there a local event that you can take advantage of to enlarge your impact?
Calendar in holidays or special events to participate in throughout the year.
3. You cannot make big changes without taking big risks. Conquer fear and
take action by thinking about the urgency of the issue.
4. If you achieve success at your school, do not stop there but continue on a
bigger scale (e.g., district-wide, city, county, or even national level). “You are
only limited by your imagination.”
5. If you see the value of a previous one-time event, do not be afraid to revive it.
You may solve a new problem at a larger scale with an old method.

Back to top
 7

Overcome Challenges:
Failure in Spreading to Other Schools

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.”
—Henry Ford

S eeing that two events were successful at my school, I thought it would be a

great idea to spread battery collections to other schools to widen our impact.
My next goal was to spread the battery drives to as many schools in our district as
possible and showcase the collection results at our district’s Steam-A-Palooza
Open House (April 23) to celebrate the 52nd International Earth Day (April 22).
In my school district, there are 20 schools, each with its own student
representative at the district level called the school ambassador. At the time, I did
not know anyone in any of the 19 other schools and therefore had limited ability to
network and find potential leaders to organize more drives. Fortunately, Dr. Cho,
my school’s assistant principal, was very supportive of my idea and connected me
with the lead district ambassador who happened to attend the same school as I did.
The lead ambassador kindly helped me schedule a meeting with all the school
ambassadors.
For our meeting, I prepared a Google presentation with a step-by-step guide
along with all the email, flyer, and announcement templates I made for student
leaders to use to execute the drives at their schools. I learned how crucial it was to
systematize what we were doing so that we could reach more schools and thus,
hopefully, reach our 1MB goal.

Presenting a step-by-step guide for running battery drives to school ambassadors

(some ambassadors are listening virtually).

Some presentation slides about the purpose and roadmap of the proposed drives.

To offer more support and convenience, I’d also set up a new website with a
webpage designated for each school to showcase their battery event results (e.g.,
pictures, videos, battery counts). I also suggested a timeline with four checkpoint
dates and their action items to ensure that the results of their events could be
submitted on time for the Open House. Using the information from this website, I
hoped to make a showcase video to publicly share the success of each school’s
battery drive, bringing awareness of e-waste to our schools, district, and
communities.

Showcase website I created with individual webpages for each school.

Battery event checkpoints and action items due at each checkpoint.

The meeting went very well. The ambassadors absorbed the information
and asked a lot of questions. By the end of the meeting, most of them seemed to
like the idea. Some emailed me later, saying, “I am super excited for this event that
you have created” and “looking forward to working with you.”

Most Schools Failed to Run the Drives

This was the first time I got a good dose of reality, a huge challenge for an
idealist like myself. Things appeared to be moving smoothly at first. However, only
one of the 19 schools had finished their checkpoint tasks on time after one month.
The other schools showed no progress.
At this point, I was panicking. When I did my first school event, it took a lot
of effort to prepare—getting approvals, communicating with the club members,
posting flyers, making announcements, and fundraising for the contest prizes—so
seeing that the other schools were silent and had not done much worried me.
For the following weeks, I tried to push things forward in many ways and
directions. I reached out to the school ambassadors individually to ask if they
needed any help. I also drafted an email to all the school principals to ask for their
support, but Dr. Cho later advised that this would burden them too much. She
believed that I shouldn’t make the principals feel obligated to take control of the
event, which after some thought made a lot of sense to me. I thought about her
advice and learned that students needed to be the ones in charge of the task at
hand. So, I tried other methods, such as offering to provide collection buckets and
trying to connect with the ASB president at each school via the lead district
ambassador.
Unfortunately, none of them worked. In the end, only three out of the 19
schools were able to run battery drives, and their results were surprisingly low. The
three schools combined collected three thousand batteries, roughly 25% of which
were collected at my school alone.
When I followed up with the ambassadors to ask about their situations,
emails slowly came in, detailing their struggles with recruiting a student event
coordinator, getting support from the administration, working with their
environmental club—the list went on and on. I saw how the ambassadors first felt
excited, and then ran into all sorts of challenges and difficulties personally and at
school. Eventually, they had to give up.
I soon realized that motivation or intention was not the only variable.
Statewide testing, AP exams, and finals were coming up, so many students,
especially the ambassadors who were all seniors, were quite busy. The project I
proposed might have put too much stress on the ambassadors, given the relatively
short time allotted ahead of the event.
Plus, many obstacles, including schedule conflicts with other events, were
beyond the control of both the ambassadors and me or were too big to tackle by
ourselves. There were a lot of other competing school events on various campuses
during this time of the semester, such as the clothing, toiletries, shoes, and food
drives, just to name a few. So I thought to myself—how can I overcome all these
variables? Is this even possible? Was I totally in over my head?
Initially, I had a grand vision of showcasing many schools’ battery recycling
successes at my district’s Steam-A-Palooza. However, the project had to be
canceled with only three schools that collected batteries with rather low amounts. I
felt not only disappointed but exhausted. I had put a lot of effort and grueling
hours into this district-wide project, but all of it appeared to have been in vain.
Everything since the creation of 1MB had been going extremely smoothly until this
huge hurdle, and yes, I was disappointed. Very disappointed.

My Reflections and a New Opportunity

After a few days of mulling over the situation, a revelation hit me like a ton
of bricks. I was experiencing the very issue I read about in my literature review:
consumers’ recycling behavior determinants. Behavioral research points out a
well-known gap between intention and action. People’s intention or motivation
does not necessarily translate into action. Some behavioral determinants have
successfully reduced the intention-action gap, such as economic incentive,
convenience, and systemic support, which I realized I should pursue in the future
to improve recycling efforts in my district.
It was easy to feel like a failure, to dismiss my vision of one million batteries
as a distant dream I could not reach. However, I could not discount how far we had
come. We’d collected tens of thousands of batteries with the help of numerous 1MB
volunteers in many cities! I realized I needed to see the glass as half full instead of
half empty. The appearance of a “failure” is based on a person’s expectation, and I
was probably too eager. In reality, I needed to adjust my expectation and improve
the model by evaluating what went wrong and addressing the research-informed
behavioral determinants.
I finally saw the root issue—asking each school to run their own event
meant that the responsibilities of the event were placed solely on the school
ambassador’s shoulders. It was unrealistic to expect each ambassador to run a
successful event without the proper schoolwide support that I had initially.
Now having seen other possible outcomes, I realized I had many advantages
compared to the ambassadors at the other schools. I not only had the prompt
approval of the club advisor and administration, but they also gave me the
practical support I needed to make the event happen. I was really fortunate to have
it all, even with 10 students and 8 adults on the team! I thought I was providing
the ambassadors the support they needed, but I could not cover all aspects of
creating a support system all on my own. But with the issue identified, what now?
Seeing the challenges I was facing, Dr. Cho kindly reached out to the district
coordinator of Steam-A-Palooza in order to help me. The coordinator redirected
me to the director of our district’s Maintenance & Operations Department (MOD),
who was thrilled to hear about our 1MB campaign!
The MOD director called me into a meeting with her team and Dr. Cho and
told me that she wanted to offer full financial support to help me establish a
permanent battery recycling program at each school. During the discussion, I
heard her say to Dr. Cho, “After Joshua graduates, I still want to continue this
program!”
 Stepping out of the meeting, I felt like a phoenix rising from the ashes. I had
no idea I could turn this into a fully-funded district program that would be
sustainable for many years to come. This was a huge lesson because my efforts for
the district Steam-A-Palooza were not in vain after all. In fact, I was planting seeds
for others to adopt my vision.
Systematic support, including funding, meant that the project would no
longer rely on individual school ambassadors. Instead, an existing school club such
as the ECO club or ASB at each school site would be able to carry out the program
with proper administrative support, successfully addressing the root issue
identified earlier! The storm clouds had parted.

The Superintendent and Looking Forward

The MOD director and Dr. Cho both advised that I needed a sound plan to
instill the permanent district-wide battery e-waste program. During the meeting,
Dr. Cho noted that students in past years failed to pass on promising programs as
they often died off after the student leaders graduated. This was because the
project was tied too closely to one leader. Dr. Cho emphasized that I needed to
recruit student clubs at each site and help them embed the battery e-waste project
permanently so that it could be “sustainable.”
I knew I had to reach out to club presidents at each school, but right as I
opened up a document to draft emails, I paused. Honestly, I began to feel
concerned and confused about my role. In reality, this program should no longer
be “my project,” but I still needed a way to convince other students to take me
seriously. Wanting to seek advice from someone who initiated the district-wide
Servathon and Steam-A-Palooza events, I took my chances and requested an in-
person meeting with the superintendent of my district, Superintendent Matsuda.
I went into the superintendent’s office intimidated at first, but to my
surprise, the meeting went very smoothly! Superintendent Matsuda was very
supportive and helped me gain insights into my 1MB initiative and the
presentation on the battery recycling issue.
So far, in every presentation I’d made regarding 1MB or battery recycling,
some questions were always raised: “Why batteries?” “Why should I care?” I
thought I knew the answers to these questions: batteries are harmful to the
environment, and the resources in them can be reused. When Superintendent
Matsuda questioned me, I answered in the same way.
However, he told me that my answers weren’t enough and that I needed to
make the matter of “why batteries” more compelling so that people would feel
“emotionally connected” and say, “Okay, we've got to do something about it. We
need to fix this right now!” I needed to help my audiences visualize the issue with a
greater sense of urgency. “What if the batteries contaminate our groundwater, and
clean water is no longer accessible?” “What will happen to our kids in the future?”
This was one of the most important lessons I learned: to tap into the conscience of
individuals and encourage them that we are the solution to this grave problem.
Another point that I was deeply impressed by Superintendent Matsuda was
his emphasis on the power of youth. He noted that “students have a lot of power
because you are future voters.” I used to think that young people are powerless
because they are not financially independent nor do they have connections or have
the authority to do anything. However, Superintendent Matsuda had a completely
opposite perspective. “You need to use your youth as power to engage with
legislators,” he stated.
He talked about other issues as well. I had already told him about disposing
of batteries being illegal but its enforcement being lacking, to which he responded
that we need to do something to “add teeth to the law.” In essence, a law has no
power if there isn’t any type of punishment. Superintendent Matsuda also pointed
out that California, especially Orange County, has a lot of wealth and should use it
to “solve this battery problem.” According to him, if California and Orange County
were separate nations, they would have been ranked #8 and #32 wealthiest in the
world, respectively. The issue is that “we need to put pressure on legislators” in
order to bring the best.
At the end of the meeting, Superintendent Matsuda shook my hand and
gave it a firm squeeze. “You will work directly with me,” he said. “Send me the link
to your 1MB website. Let’s set up another meeting, and we will see how to grow
this!” He bid me goodbye with a small gift, a black mug with two simple yet
powerful words in bold white: “UNLIMITED YOU.” I have to say—as I walked out
of the district office building, thinking of all the exciting opportunities to come in
the next few months, I really did feel UNLIMITED!

Inspirational gift from my superintendent!

Food for Thought & Action Tips

1. When was the last time you believed you failed? Reflect on it and think about
the things that did go right and the skills you obtained through the struggles.
2. Don’t be discouraged if results don’t turn out as you expected. There are
always ups and downs and remember that there are most likely many
variables affecting the results, some you may not have any control over.
 However, as long as you keep pressing forward, new opportunities may arise,
and new problems will be solved.
3. Do not judge those who cannot duplicate your success. You may have had
much more support than others.
4. Keep searching for opportunities for further advancement, no matter what
the situation is. Be flexible and be willing to change your plan.

Back to top
 8

Establish a Leadership Structure:

Scaling up with TAE Branches

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”

—Warren Bennis

H alf a year after I founded the nonprofit Teens Against E-Waste (TAE), which
was based in California, I reached out to Amelia Halverson, a like-minded
student in Ottawa, and expanded TAE to Canada. Amelia brought her strengths as
a writer to the table. She contributed to the TAE website with informative blog
articles, such as “Toxic TVs—What Secrets are Electronic Companies Hiding?” and
“Self Service Repair—How Apple May Help with E-waste.” She also added
enlightening and educational videos to the TAE YouTube channel, such as “The
Problems with Laptops During COVID-19” and “How the Next Generation Can
Help Solve the E-waste Crisis.” Later, when talking about her endeavors in these
projects, she said,

“I think that Teens Against E-waste is a great learning experience because

when I started, I got to write articles, design, and also make videos, which
are all things that I really enjoy. But at the same time, I got to learn a lot
about e-waste and how I could help the environment. The process may seem
quite daunting at first, but when you break it into small pieces, it goes by
 really fast. I do a little bit of work on Teens Against E-waste every day. And
by the end of the week, I feel accomplished.”

While we were working on the TAE website, I continued to search for the
next two months for a practical way for our organization to make a real impact.
That was when I received the battery collection buckets for America Recycles Day
in November 2021 and officially started the 1MB campaign.
Upon the success of my school battery event, I reached out to another local
student named Katelyn Gan. I asked her if she would like to join our 1MB initiative.
I told her all about my journey and vision to collect 1,000,000 batteries. She was
thrilled and immediately took action and left battery collection buckets with senior
apartments near her. In a matter of two months, she had led a group of student
volunteers in her city to recycle over 3,600 batteries by also organizing a drive at
her school.
With Amelia and Katelyn joining me, TAE now had a concrete project (1MB)
and an official executive leadership team consisting of one president and two vice
presidents. Together we created a web-based battery reporting system, developed
step-by-step guides on organizing collection events, and made our own make-shift
battery collection containers out of Amazon shipping boxes and shoeboxes.
The battery reporting system allowed individual volunteers or groups to
report how many batteries they had recycled. Each contribution was proudly
showcased in a rolling window on the homepage of the 1MB website. Based on the
reported data, three counters were also automatically updated to show the total
numbers of recycled batteries, volunteers, and collection sites. The more we
watched this counter go higher and higher as time went on, the more we were
convinced that only with a united vision could we achieve our goal.
Automatic counters on the 1MB homepage. Retrieved from
onemillionbatteries.org at the time this book was written.

Each individual’s or group’s contribution showcased in the

rolling window. Source: onemillionbatteries.org.
 Creating TAE Branches

Knowing I had friends and other contacts around the country and even in
China and Canada, I began to think about creating TAE branches. By reaching
people locally, nationally, and internationally, we may be able to actually reach our
goal of one million batteries together! My vision to grow e-waste recycling projects,
starting with 1MB, would require an efficient system where each branch could
replicate what I was able to achieve at my school and local community.
So what is the goal of a TAE branch? A branch is a local (e.g., school, scout
troop, or community) arm of TAE that seeks to support e-waste initiatives, with
the main activity currently being the 1MB campaign. In the future, we hope our
branches will launch other e-waste campaigns such as One Million Phones or One
Million Laptops.
Before founding TAE, I had volunteered in some other student-run
nonprofit organizations and school clubs. I’d learned many valuable lessons
through my observations, experiences, and even failures. Therefore, when setting
up the TAE branches and their leadership structure, I made sure I used what I’d
learned to implement the following key elements needed to expand an
organization.
(1) Leadership Positions
Inspired by how other organizations set up their leadership positions, I
came up with the idea of granting students proper titles and allowing each TAE
branch to have the positions of Branch Founder(s) and President(s). That way,
students would be motivated with an “ownership” of their branch, and they would
be encouraged to recruit other teenagers to form their own branch leadership team,
thus honing their leadership, collaboration, and communication skills as well.
TAE’s goal has been not only focusing on combating e-waste, but also developing
capable leaders.
(2) Branch Website and Public Recognition
 As mentioned in Chapter 7—“Overcome Challenges: Failure in Spreading to
Other Schools”—I created a website consisting of many webpages, with one
webpage designated for each school so that they could showcase their event results
and battery stories. Even though the website was never used due to the
cancellation of my project, the same idea rang the bell when I was setting up the
TAE branches. What about giving each newly founded branch its own website?
Each community is unique, and it would be highly encouraging for students
from around the world to share what they have accomplished at their schools and
local communities. In this way, we create synergy, sharing with each other what
we’ve learned and cheering each other on towards our united goal. Granting each
branch a site for presenting their service missions and branch activities would also
allow for incentives such as public recognition as well as a cumulative portfolio
they can look back on.

The “starter-kit” template I designed for each branch to build their own website.

Very excited about the idea of building this online community, I decided to
set up a new Branches page on the TAE website that would list each branch with
their school/community picture and a link to their own website. I spent many days
working on the Branches page and developing a “starter-kit” template for each
branch to build its own website. A branch president Jacqueline Zhou, when
sharing her tips with the new branches in one of our training workshops,
recommended the template because “it has a lot of information about how we can
get started and what your first steps as a new branch would be.”

Sample branch website consisting of customized webpages.

Author credit: Grace Gan, Milliken Mills Branch in Ontario, Canada.

On the Branches page, I also clearly specified TAE branch leaders’ roles and
responsibilities and the benefits of branch involvement such as leadership
development, certified service hours, and public recognition of branch activities.
This page that lists the links and pictures of all branches turned out to be the most
visited page of the TAE website, uniting all the branches together and showcasing
their tireless environmental efforts to the world.
 Screenshot of part of the Branches webpage. Retrieved from
teensagainstewaste.org/branches.html at the time this book was written.

(3) Parental Support

Whether we stubborn teenagers like to admit it or not, without the support
of our parents, we could not have gone as far as we have. From giving me rides to
senior apartments to transporting batteries to the collection centers, my own
parents have been invaluable to my efforts. Thinking about the hazardous nature
of batteries, I decided that each branch should have an adult or parent advisor.
Sometimes finding professional advisors can be challenging, and we did not want
to negate the fact that our parents are also working professionals.
While TAE is a fully student-run organization, the valuable advice and
practical assistance from parents and other adult advisors have helped us navigate
challenges with greater support. Besides constant consultation and coaching,
they’ve helped tremendously with website database programming, completing
legal documents such as the liability agreement and state and IRS applications,
and connecting us with other organizations and institutions for our events, just to
name a few. On behalf of TAE student leaders, I would like to give special thanks to
the TAE Board of Advisors (Rena Lou, Yunong Gan, and Lingyun Xue) and all
branch parent advisors, especially Fadi Saibi, Linda Waldman, and Calvin Lou.
Getting this far would not have been possible without their immense help!
One mother also shared from a parent’s perspective how she appreciated
the TAE/1MB project, which gave her and her daughter a great platform to spend
quality time with each other. She said after her child entered high school, there
was some distance between her and the child as teenagers tended to seek
independence. However, TAE was the tangible and collaborative project they
needed to bond. She was very happy that by supervising the project, she could also
pass on her experiences and skills (e.g., time management, outreach endeavors,
organization skills) she accumulated over the years to her daughter.

Branch Responses

To recruit more branch leaders, we hosted our first TAE information

meeting featuring the success of our first three TAE branches (Oxford Academy
branch in California, Nepean branch in Ottawa, Canada, and Sage Hill branch in
California). Our 45-minute meeting extended into two hours, with enthusiastic
discussions during the Q&A time and in the breakout rooms by countries and
regions. People were inspired by our stories and the goal of 1MB, and we were able
to recruit 10 additional branches as a result of the information meeting! A month
later, we had scaled up with 19 branches from the U.S., Canada, China, and
Singapore.
Since then, we have continued to receive applications to create new
branches. Some memorable remarks we received in the applications had become
such great reminders that we had been doing something right. If we could inspire
students to take action and believe in a cause bigger than ourselves, the potential
was truly unlimited in this effort to combat e-waste.
 I hope that reading the following words of applicants who are now some of
our most dedicated leaders will motivate you to start a TAE branch of your own:
 “TAE is such a great idea to help protect the environment and our health.
Electronic waste is widely ignored and a serious problem, and I love how
TAE advocates for recycling electronics and reducing e-waste. There are so
many families with old electronics and batteries who just aren't aware of
these problems, and I feel TAE's mission really helps educate society and
promote against e-waste.”
 “[My school] is a tech magnet school, with almost half of the students there
participating in the Tech program. As a Tech student myself, while the
curriculum illustrates exactly how technology can be used and developed,
very little is said about E-Waste and responsible electronic waste
management. Creating a new TAE branch would empower students to raise
awareness about proper E-Waste management; it would be a way for
students to give back to the community through technology, with which
they are already very familiar.”
 “I would like to start a new branch because I understand the danger that e-
waste creates for healthy human living by polluting the environment. I also
would like to help people address what is a nuisance to them—disposing of
e-waste. Additionally, I hope to help many students at my school become
active in helping others.”

Time since 1MB started: 4.5 months

Battery count: 43,310
TAE branches: 19 (located in 13 cities in 4 countries)

Food for Thought & Action Tips

 1. Is your project scalable? Can others participate or help you achieve your
goal?
2. Can your project be easily carried out by people in a different school or
community? Are you able to put together instructions for others to follow?
3. Spread your organization through local branches. Create a model that is easy
for branches to follow so that they may replicate your success to widen your
organizational impact.
4. Ask your branch leaders to find an advisor. Adults are great resources for
immediate support, whether it be rides, ideas, or organizational advice.

Back to top
 9

Partner & Collaborate:

TAE Stands United

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

—Helen Keller

N ow that more and more TAE branches had been founded, a lot of
enthusiasm, creativity, and collaboration had been poured into our Teens
Against E-waste endeavors. So many exciting events took place, one after another.
After hosting numerous collection events in celebration of Global Recycling
Day (March 18) and Earth Day (April 22), our 1MB campaign had reached our first
milestone of recycling 100,000 batteries, and it’d been only six months since the
start of the journey!
I want to note that 1MB’s achievements would not have been possible
without the many student leaders, community volunteers, and partner
organizations that joined our efforts along the way. We’ve developed some
wonderful partnerships with nonprofit organizations such as Call2Recycle, the
Meadows senior residential community, and Young Engineers in Action. We’ve
also been providing mentorship and training to the new branches and helping all
branches work in close collaboration. Teens Against E-waste stands united and
ventures on.
 Partnerships

The Nepean branch run by Amelia Halverson reached out to Call2Recycle’s

Canadian segment and was provided 100 battery collection boxes—with the
recycling costs and shipping fully covered as well—plus $300 for them to use as
battery drive prizes! After careful and thorough preparation and promotion, they
successfully ran the school event with 13 volunteers and collected 6,020 batteries
in two weeks.
After hearing their success story, I tried reaching out to Call2Recycle’s
American segment multiple times but unfortunately received no response. You win
some, and you lose some, and that’s okay. Regardless, we will just need to keep
trying our best to reach out.

Nepean branch’s school battery drive sponsored by Call2Recycle.

Photo credit: Amelia Halverson.

Back in California, the Sage Hill branch run by Katelyn Gan has helped
establish a partnership between 1MB and the Meadows senior residential
community. After Katelyn visited the manager several times, the manager decided
to research the toxic effects of batteries and give a presentation to the residents.
She became so invested in the topic that she ran a battery collection event by
herself in the residential community. And she didn’t stop there but continued with
more endeavors, collecting a total of 5,817 batteries.
“We held a drawing as part of the recycling drive,” the manager announced.
“Everyone who brought batteries to the meeting got a ticket, and the holder of the
winning ticket received a really great emergency radio! I also gave a presentation
about the state of battery recycling (not good) and the dangers associated with the
different types of batteries—they are toxic, corrosive, and explosive! So we did
what we could to support your effort.
“Together, we are all making a difference,” she asserted. “Thanks for
starting it all off!”

Meadows residents pitching in to help 1MB by hosting

their own battery drive. Photo credit: Katelyn Gan.

On my end, I helped TAE build a partnership with YEA, a local nonprofit

STEM organization. Seeing the need to recognize our branch leaders and members
with service awards, especially the President's Volunteer Service Awards (PVSA), I
reached out to the CEO of YEA. Even though TAE was already a registered 501(c)(3)
nonprofit, we didn’t have the funding or ability to sponsor PVSA, but YEA, as a
PVSA certified organization, agreed to build partnership and help us issue the
PVSA awards to our volunteers by acknowledging the TAE service hours. I was
really thrilled to see the benefits of the partnership, allowing more students to join
both the STEM education and environmental service endeavors.

Collaboration & Mentorship

During the first three months since 1MB started, we had developed three
successful models of battery collection that could be easily carried out by
individual TAE branches:
 Collecting batteries from door to door in our neighborhood (active
collection)
 Setting up battery collection boxes for a later pickup (passive collection)
 Organizing a battery drive at school (active collection)
For each model, we have posted testimonials and guides on our 1MB
website to help the new branches get started.
More excitingly, we also found practical ways to collaborate among TAE
branches to share resources, help each other, and collectively enlarge our impact.
The branches proved to be extremely helpful when I had to cancel my Steam-A-
Palooza project with other schools but was not willing to totally give up on this
event. I reached out to the branch presidents of four other TAE branches who
attended different schools in my district and asked them if they would like to co-
host a 1MB battery collection event with me at Steam-A-Palooza. They all agreed
enthusiastically!
I quickly communicated with Dr. Cho about booth availability and the
district staff for promotion requests. Since all of the branch leaders and school
admins had already known me through previous events, I was very thankful that
the responses from them and the collaborations were very smooth and prompt.
 In this first collaborative event among TAE branches, we divided
preparation tasks, took turns manning the collection table, passed out educational
flyers for e-waste to hundreds of visitors at the Open House, and even recruited
new student volunteers to join our 1MB endeavors. As a result, we collected 4,665
batteries at Steam-A-Palooza with only one week of preparation time!

Volunteers from 5 TAE branches running a 1MB collection event at the district
Steam-A-Palooza Open House for Earth Day (some not pictured).

Seeing the huge benefit of collaboration among branches, I reached out to

another branch leader, Kevin, because his mother and my mother were teaching in
the same college, both chemistry professors. My ambition now was to spread 1MB
to college campuses. Thanks to our mothers’ connections, Kevin and I were able to
connect with students at their college to promote an Earth Day college battery
drive with other professors and their students. The college students even took the
initiative to decorate some whiteboards to promote 1MB and set them up with
battery collection boxes in their own lecture halls and chemistry laboratories as
well as in public areas.
The news spread very quickly since some professors taught classes on other
college campuses, too. We ended up having four colleges participate in the 1MB
battery recycling event. Hundreds of students participated by not only donating
batteries themselves but also reaching out to their relatives, friends, neighbors,
and local communities to collect more batteries. Even my brother in college, who
flew home from the east coast for summer break, brought back a whopping two
batteries to give to me for recycling. Together, the college students collected almost
thirty thousand batteries collectively to celebrate the 52nd International Earth Day!

College students decorating promotion boards to help run a 1MB battery drive.

Another golden opportunity came along my way when I was connected to

Jimena Galvan, the community impact senior manager of Jamboree Housing
Corporation. Jamboree is a nonprofit housing company that manages 98
affordable properties across California. Jimena was thrilled to hear about 1MB and
agreed to have us host battery collection drives on as many Jamboree property
sites as possible this summer. After several emails and a Zoom meeting with
Jimena, we successfully matched the participating Jamboree properties with our
TAE branches. The resident services coordinator of each property would promote
the collection event to their residents and generously provide funds and collection
boxes to run the event, while the TAE branches would prepare promotion flyers
and count and send the collected batteries to be recycled. Everyone was excited to
get started!
Like Jimena, the site coordinators have also enthusiastically encouraged us,
saying, “I am looking forward to collaborating with you to help TAE meet its goals.”
Jimena spent a lot of time coordinating and even offered to help with the drop off
and pick up of battery collection buckets for one of the TAE branches because their
assigned properties were far away. I’ve learned a lot from Jimena regarding
organization skills, kindness, and passion for service while working with her.

Providing tips and collection buckets to help a new branch leader

run a battery drive at her junior high school.

For both the Jamboree project and many other events, we offered
mentorship to newer branches. We hosted Zoom training workshops where
experienced branch leaders shared their experiences with new leaders and
provided step-by-step guides, checkpoints, flyer templates, and advice both online
and offline. It was great to see many branches working together in harmony.
We also recently developed an award system that granted points to
branches that offered help and mentorship to others, in addition to completing
regular branch and organizational tasks. With all the exciting events for our many
branches to run together, we really look forward to a productive summer and
beyond!

Screenshot of part of the Awards webpage.

Source: teensagainstewaste.org/awards.html.
 Time since 1MB started: 6 months
Battery count: 107,630
TAE branches: 25 (located in 17 cities in 4 countries)

Food for Thought & Action Tips

1. You don’t necessarily have to work as a single team all the time. Collaborate
and split up! “Divide and conquer” is a valuable strategy to keep in mind.
2. Seek help through personal and professional connections! Don’t
underestimate how much a recommendation from one of your friends or
another volunteer can do for you.
3. Make a list of local companies and organizations you can reach out to build
win-win partnerships.
4. No labor is in vain. Out of apparent failures, there is always success coming
in another form as long as you press on.

Back to top
 10

Recognize Leaders:
Achievements of TAE Branches

“We showed that we are united and that we, young people, are unstoppable.”
—Greta Thunberg

A s I’m writing this chapter, the automatic counters on our 1MB website tally
up 156,426 recycled batteries with 578 volunteers and 424 collection
sites and are continuing to increase weekly.
This achievement was made possible thanks to many Teens Against E-waste
branches, 41 in total (located in four countries) and counting. Hundreds of 1MB
volunteers were also engaged by our outstanding and enthusiastic branch leaders.
Let me share with you some of the accomplishments of our branches, in the branch
leaders’ own words.
Oxford Academy Branch flyer made by Joshua Lou, 10th grade.
Nepean Branch flyer made by Amelia Halverson, 10th grade.
Sage Hill Branch flyer made by Katelyn Gan, 9th grade.
Silicon Valley INTL Branch flyer made by Sophie Saibi, 7th grade.
Carmel Valley Branch flyer made by Bryan Huang, 8th grade.
Sam Chapman Branch flyer made by Joyce Gan, 8th grade.
Lynbrook Branch flyer made by Caroline Wang, 11th grade.
Bellarmine Branch flyer made by Kevin Li, 9th grade.
Troy High Branch flyer made by Jacqueline Zhou, 9th grade.
Graph of the total numbers of used batteries collected since 1MB started.

Graph of the total numbers of TAE branches founded since 1MB started.
 Time since 1MB started: 8.5 months*
Battery count: 156,426 (+ 12 tons of e-waste)
TAE branches: 41 (located in 23 cities in 4 countries)

* At the time this book was written

Food for Thought & Action Tips

1. Providing incentives for leaders and volunteers is a key to running a

successful organization. Think about how you can create a platform to
recognize your leaders and celebrate their successes.
2. Have an open mind and learn from everyone. Utilize the collective wisdom
and creativity of everyone supporting your cause.
3. Templates and prototypes are useful for helping new branches get the ball
rolling, but don't be too rigid—you may be amazed by how many different
versions of your prototype can be developed, all leading to success.
4. Schedule regular meetings with the leaders to frequently exchange fresh
ideas, recommend resources and tips, provide support and encouragement
to one other, and share their successes.
5. One million may sound impossible, but an old Chinese saying is, “A single
spark can start a prairie fire.” Trust in your branches because, little by little,
you will see the fire get bigger.

Back to top
 11

Inspiration for Future Action:

Survey Stories

“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.”

—Ken Blanchard

B ased on my research on e-waste recycling behavior, I decided to focus my

recycling projects on batteries for a straightforward reason: convenience. I
chose not to collect other e-waste such as cell phones or laptops yet because public
awareness and motivation to recycle these devices were lacking. However, when I
first started 1MB, I set a goal to use the battery angle to increase awareness of e-
waste as a whole. Based on the battery counter on our 1MB website, which reports
more than 150,000 batteries collected to date, we seem to be on the right track.
Collecting batteries was an intelligent way to make recycling easier and more
relatable for the average person. After all, everyone has batteries lying around the
house.
As I was still learning, I felt it was critical to get feedback regarding our
recycling events so that I could learn more about consumer recycling behavior and
how to improve the overall campaign. More specifically, as I handed out post-event
surveys to participants, I wanted to know whether the 1MB battery campaign had
increased awareness of e-waste as expected and also to understand why people
decided to join 1MB.
 Demonstrating Long-Term Effects on E-waste Awareness

I surveyed the 7-12th grade students who participated in my school drive (19
responses) and the college students who participated in the Earth Day drive (30
responses). The graphs below present student responses to the post-event survey
questions related to e-waste. I was thrilled to see that 1MB not only helped recycle
batteries to protect the environment but also seemed to increase awareness. The
impact of hosting battery events on people’s long-term awareness of e-waste, not
just on one-time battery recycling behavior, was very encouraging.

Graph 1. E-waste Consciousness

Graph 1 shows that an overwhelming majority of students became more

aware of e-waste overall through the 1MB campaign, which met our goal. One
thing I realized as I administered the surveys was that while students were now
more conscientious about e-waste, they still didn’t know exactly what they should
do with them and why e-waste and batteries are hazardous to the planet. Therefore,
I made sure to provide information on our website to close the knowledge gap.
 Hosting battery collection events has also made the issue of e-waste
awareness much more real to me. Personally, I am learning to make small changes
in my own life to reduce e-waste. My parents recently asked me whether I wanted
to get a new cell phone for my birthday since my current one was more than three
years old and its glass screen had a long crack. I realized that we have a mindset to
always have the newest and latest technology. One little crack, and we trash
perfectly usable products without considering how we create e-waste as we
continue to upgrade. So we voted no.

Graph 2. Awareness of Dangers of E-waste

Graph 2 shows that about 21% and 23% of middle/high school and college
students were unaware of the dangers of e-waste prior to our event, respectively.
These percentages are dangerously high, considering how prevalent electronic
devices are nowadays.
According to the EPA, 97% of Americans own at least one cell phone. In fact,
mobile phones make up the majority of e-waste because people frequently upgrade
their phones (every 18 months on average) even while they are still fully functional.
Given the high proportion of phone users in our survey who were not aware of cell
phones containing hazardous materials in their batteries or how dangerous e-
waste is to our environment and health, it's no wonder the collection and recycling
rates of used phones in the U.S. is only 15%! There is a pressing need to educate
the population and raise awareness through campaigns such as 1MB.

Understanding Teenagers’ Motives Behind Battery Recycling

To understand teenagers’ motives behind battery recycling, I asked the 7-

12th grade students, “What propelled you to collect batteries for our event?” Below
are their responses (each student could select multiple choices).

Graph 3. Reasons for participation

In Graph 3, nearly half of the students (47.4%) selected the boba prize, a
legitimate reason that also echoed the research about economic incentive being an
important determinant. However, the majority of the responses were about
convenience (63.2%) and how-to knowledge (63.2%), which were also identified as
the most significant recycling intention determinants reported in many research
studies. Over and over, students mentioned that they had many old batteries at
home but either “didn’t know what to do with them” or “didn’t have time to send
them to the collection centers.” They were very thankful for the battery collection
events that provided convenience so that they could dispose of batteries they had
been saving all these years.

Graph 4. Interest in Volunteering for Future E-waste Events

* Note: this question was not asked to college students because they
were above the age limit for Teens Against E-waste volunteers.

According to Graph 4, it was very encouraging to see that 84% of 1MB

teenage participants were interested in volunteering and leadership opportunities
for future battery e-waste collection events. This met another one of our 1MB goals
to engage hundreds and even thousands of teenage students in service and plant
seeds for our generation and future generations to care for a sustainable earth.
Interestingly, the “fun” component of our battery events seemed to play a
role in motivating people, especially teenage students, to participate. One of the
most frequent words seen in their survey was the word “fun.” From my own
experience, the battery e-waste events are indeed very fun, easy to get started and
quick to obtain support since batteries are relatable to everyone. Also, the events
end with tangible and impactful results, and counting and reporting batteries on
the 1MB website make our service not only fulfilling but also exciting.
 So far, more than 500 volunteers have reported their contributions on our
website. We know that there are many more that have helped 1MB behind the
scenes, for whom we are very thankful. We also heard that as our volunteers
became more aware of e-waste through 1MB, they started joining and even hosting
various e-waste collection endeavors in their local communities.
In summary, our surveys and experiences align with research that there are
many practical ways to close the intention-action gap in regard to battery e-waste
recycling. Some examples include providing convenience and a “nudging moment”
by hosting collection events, placing collection buckets in the neighborhood as a
visual reminder, promoting a collaborative environment where people witness
others taking action (also known as “social pressure” or “social norms”), and
providing economic incentives to the participants. A small cup of boba milk tea can
be just the incentive they need to recycle.

Collecting Inspiring Stories

Thinking about how in my own home we had 99 batteries collecting dust in

our drawers, it has been inspiring to learn that so many others also refused to
throw out their batteries into the trash, even if they didn’t know exactly why except
the vague intuition that it probably wasn’t good for the environment. From reading
the surveys and speaking to countless people, I collected many stories and
perspectives from people of all walks of life.
Many middle and high school students reported searching around their
homes and finding a lot of used batteries, to their surprise. A student said, “My
little sister is in first grade and goes through a lot of batteries with her toys.” A 7 th
grader told us, “I know you aren’t supposed to throw away dead batteries in a trash
bin used for waste, so we kept them in the garage. The dead batteries were built up
over time from using many different household items like clocks, the TV remote
controls, flashlights, etc.”
 When asked why they had so many batteries accumulated, students
repeatedly answered “inconvenient to take them to a proper place to recycle them,”
“not enough battery recycling events,” “didn’t know what to do with them so they
just collected over time,” and “I have no idea.” A 7th grader put in an insightful
reflection, saying, “I think lack of information was a huge contribution to how we
collected so many batteries.”
On the positive end, students shared how their parents and relatives also
enthusiastically participated. Students said, “My dad said that he liked how a club,
like ECO, had organized such a fun event” or “I collected batteries from my uncle
and he brought in about 400 so I was extremely surprised!” It was great to see that
just one event could engage so many school and community members, and we
hope it may incur a “butterfly effect” to cause many more to become aware of e-
waste.

A DIY bucket made out of a dollar store trash bin by a student.

College students reached out even further to more communities because

they had independent transportation and living situations. Besides asking their
relatives, neighbors, and friends for used batteries, they posted about 1MB on their
Facebook and Instagram. They visited numerous places where they may be able to
collect used batteries. One student said, “[Our collection] involved several hours of
driving, calling, and brainstorming where we can find used batteries. We went to
libraries, community buildings, stores, even churches and parks.” Another student
mentioned visiting senior centers and nursing homes to collect single-use batteries
from medical devices.
Students collected batteries in many creative ways, even regarding their
collection containers. One student kept all her batteries in a water jug! Another
student got trash bins from a dollar store and taped the flyer template we provided
on 1MB’s How-You-Can-Help page to make his own DIY collection buckets. He
said, “I just dropped one bucket off at an assisted living facility near my house, and
they were excited to have somewhere to put them. They even asked if I accepted
toners.”

Can you guess how many batteries are in this one-gallon jug?
If you guessed 327, you were correct.

The battery collection event was also an e-waste educational event. One
student reported, “A lot of my friends were surprised to hear that it was illegal to
throw away batteries in the garbage and had made a note in their head to always
recycle them.” Another student said, “My family wasn't aware of the e-waste
caused by batteries. It was a good educational moment for them.”
Some students didn’t bring many batteries for recycling, but their reasoning
was even better. They said, “We do not use many batteries at home since we have
USB-rechargeable items…[and] actually avoid buying batteries.” This really
inspired me! Our ultimate goal is to reduce e-waste, not to recycle it. Recycling
only becomes a “must” when people buy batteries yet do not dispose of them
properly. I hope that as we venture on with 1MB to sound the call for “reduce,
reuse, and recycle,” more and more households will be willing to use rechargeable
rather than single-use batteries to cut waste from the get-go.
I have to say that reading these survey responses written by teenagers and
adults has been such an inspiring moment. People are incredibly supportive of our
campaign, and despite all the challenges and ups and downs, our efforts continue
to pay off. With this passionate and dedicated community of all ages, teens and
adults alike, we are well on our way to take action collaboratively and raise
awareness of e-waste recycling to protect a greener planet for all.

The Speech Ends but the Cause Continues

Last spring, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak at TEDxWhitney. I

began my speech by introducing the WEEE Man, the visual representation of the
massive amounts of e-waste we leave behind. After doing my best to impress upon
the audience the urgency of this issue, I concluded with a call to action:

“I hope that this talk regarding the WEEE Man has planted a seed in each
one of you. Think about your home—how many phones are in that drawer?
How many batteries are in that Folgers coffee container? The world is dying,
and we’re contributing to that. So let’s save our world. One battery at a time.”
 And this has been my journey thus far. It’s not over yet, though. Creating
lasting change will probably take a lifetime as new challenges arise. That’s why it’s
so important to pass on the vision to the youth so that they can lead reforms and
improve America’s recycling system as they become leaders in their local
communities.
I hope you found inspiration and insight from this book. I wanted to show
how monumental of an issue e-waste is and also how youth activism is far more
critical than you may realize. So don’t let your young age deter you. In fact, youth
can offer a perspective that is lacking in e-waste recycling. We have a voice too, and
we have concerns regarding the lack of recycling efforts in our country. As
technology continues to advance, our generation can be a key voice in creating new
ways of addressing e-waste in the future. It is our responsibility to take the proper
steps to teach future generations that we can live more responsibly towards a
greener planet.
I also hope my book has been a helpful guide on leadership development,
specifically from one student’s personal journey regarding the ups and downs of
realizing his vision. In setting audacious goals, I have learned to take risks, be
fearless, and not let myself be limited by failure. Being bold meant stepping out of
my comfort zone and leveraging my youth as a platform to take real action. I am
extremely humbled and happy to see how far TAE has come since the day I first
wrote down our mission statement. I thought it was almost too idealistic at the
time, but in retrospect, it gave me the right mindset for what was to come.
There is a quote by Margaret Meade that has motivated me since the very
beginning of TAE and 1MB and I hope will inspire you as well:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can

change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

###
 About the Author

Joshua Lou is a high school student who is passionate about combating e-waste
and learning about consumer recycling behavior. Joshua founded a nonprofit
organization called Teens Against E-waste to raise public awareness of e-waste, an
increasing problem in our technology-dependent world. He initiated the One
Million Batteries (1MB) campaign, in particular, to make a stance that through our
united effort we can take the proper action needed to fight e-waste. Joshua also
competed in the U.S. Earth Science Olympiad and was selected for the 2022
USESO Training Camp (top 40 students nationally). To fuse his passion for
computer science with environmental efforts, he created a phone-reselling app
called $ellPhone that has been on display in the U.S. Capitol as a winner of the
Congressional App Challenge. The app makes it easier for people to not only resell
their phones for profit but also donate them to a good cause, such as veterans and
domestic violence victims in need. In his personal time, Joshua likes to cook, solve
Rubik’s Cubes, make YouTube documentaries, and make frequent stops at Chick-
fil-A.

Connect with Joshua Lou

Contact me using the contact form at either of the following websites:

Teens Against E-waste: www.teensagainstewaste.org
One Million Batteries: www.onemillionbatteries.org
or email me at teens.against.ewaste@gmail.com.

Back to top