E A RT H D AY 2 0 1 2
ONE PERSON’S TRASH
Plug into empowerment with NextStep’s
ePower program BY RICK LEVIN
N
extStep Recycling Executive Director
Lorraine Kerwood wants to emphasize
that there is no “away” in thrown away
— all that crap we shove “out of sight,
out of mind” remains on-site somewhere,
perhaps in another state, another country, outer
space. When it comes to waste, everything that
disappears must re-emerge. This is especially
true of what Kerwood calls “the tide of electronic
waste going to shredders.”
In an effort to stem the slosh of old laptops,
cell phones and other electronic gadgets piling
up in back drawers, boxes and landfi lls, NextStep
has inaugurated a new program, ePower Our
Community. The program, Kerwood says, “is an
attempt to put the breaks on the ‘recycle fi rst’
mentality and turn people’s mind to ‘reuse until
used up’ fi rst.”
Most impressively, the ePower program
utilizes the electronic waste it receives to create educational
opportunities in the form of literacy and job training. The
nonprofi t organization, in partnership with UO’s Center for
Advanced Technology Education (CATE), provides internet
literacy training to Eugene’s more marginalized students.
“They send their kids to us that don’t have technology at
home,” Kerwood says of local school districts. “We teach
them to use the computer more as a digital tool rather than
something to play games on.”
Once the training is complete, NextStep sends each
student home with a free laptop.
Having years ago overcome her own fear of computers,
Kerwood understands the ways technophobia can slam the
door of opportunity on otherwise able-bodied, able-minded
LORRAINE KERWOOD
PHOTO BY ROB SYDOR | DIGITALLATTE.COM
people of any age. “It’s a new effort of ours to expand the
educational outreach that we provide the community,” she
explains of ePower, noting that in Oregon schools there is
approximately one computer for every 10 students. The
new program, then, is “based on bridging the educational
divide,” Kerwood says.
Dig it: You drop off that old laptop at NextStep (a tax
write-off); locally trained and professionally certifi ed
technicians strip it down for parts and rebuild it; the laptop
is used to train disadvantaged students, who then get to
keep the computer; and — viola! — one more citizen is
empowered.
“Everything about waste is a circle,” Kerwood says,
adding that all of the e-waste deposited at NextStep “keeps
31 people and their families in income, offers
education to hundreds of people and retrains
people with viable skills.”
The revolutionary oomph of NextStep’s
ePower program cannot be overstated. In these
dark times of economic despair, political cant and
global enviro-wreckage, it’s easy to forget that
realpolitik is always local. Kerwood’s focus on
tech-literacy addresses the elephant in the room:
Socioeconomic advantage has always been an
issue of access, and these days the insidious
mechanisms keeping the disadvantaged classes
shut out from technological empowerment are
largely self-perpetuating.
“Everything is digital now,” Kerwood says,
“and if you don’t have access to technology
you are so left in the dirt.” One of the struggles
NextStep faces, she adds, is helping Eugene’s
business community understand that the ePower
program is, at the immediate local level, a win-win-win:
Everything donated to NextStep is processed locally,
creating more people with more employable skills, and
channeling electronic goods and services back into the
community.
“Individually, people get it,” Kerwood says, “but to a
business, it gets lost in translation ... The economic engine
that drives electronic sales is enormous. It means that there’s
this huge fl ow of material that still has a value, that’s still
usable. If businesses understood that piece, then they could
really see their material create change in our community.” ew
To learn more about NextStep’s ePower Our Community program, go to
nextsteprecycling.org, email info@nextsteprecycling.org or visit the store
at 2101 W. 10th Ave.
Lane County Commissioner ROB HANDY
His Only
Special Interest
is US!
VOTE FO
R
Rob Han
FOR CO
MMISS
dy
2012 IONER
I work hard every day to make sure Lane County’s middle class families, veterans, seniors
i and d
small businesses have an effective voice. As a small business owner, community leader,
youth sports coach, and the husband of a classroom teacher, I understand Lane County and
the values and needs of our neighbors. I respectfully ask for your vote by Tuesday, May 15.
Re-Elect Rob Handy County Commissioner
PO Box 41449
Eugene, OR 97404
Rob@RobHandy.com
ReElectRobHandy.com
Paid for by Re-Elect Rob Handy County Commissioner, Patrick Munyon, Treasurer
14 APRIL 19, 2012 EUGENE WEEKLY
Join us at Rob Handy’s
Silent Auction Fundraiser
Tuesday, April 24th
Hosted by Cozmic!
It’s going to be a wonderful night for all, with lots of great prizes to be had!
UÊ>ÃÃ>}iÃÊ
UÊ/À«ÃÊÌÊÌ iÊ >ÃÌÊ
UÊvÌÊ iÀÌvV>ÌiÃÊvÀÊ-«iÀÀÞÊ/ÀiiÊ >Ài
Ê°°°>`Ê", t
When: Tuesday, April 24th. 5:30pm-7:30pm.
Where: Cozmic, 199 West 8th Ave, (corner of 8th & Charnelton).
"ÞÊf£äÊVÛiÀÊV >À}i°ÊUÊWe look forward to seeing you there!
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM