How many of us have changed our mobile handsets in last five years? I don’t think i even need to count; almost all of us would have switched a better gadget with every new launch. But the second and most important question; how many of us have bothered about its recycling? Where are those old gadgets? Are they unusable or we simply discarded them because we got a better one? 

The Digital Divide
We have all heard of the news of a poor couple in district Kangra of Himachal Pradesh, selling their only source of income their cattle, a young girl in Kerala committing suicide because she couldn’t join the online classes and many other unknown stories that portrayed the digital divide and have just not made to headlines but haunt every child, every parent, every teacher and every aware and sensitive individual. In the times of pandemic; while systems, institutions and teachers are gearing themselves and engaging with more and more digital learning; this is one of the most disturbing issues.

Well with all these thoughts in mind; Dr. Kalpana Sharma, Principal Swami Vivekanand State Model School, Baneda, Bhilwada, Rajasthan thought of a unique and innovative scheme; “Smartphone Recycle” scheme. While visiting children and households for enrolment, for awarness rallies, and for active participation in online classes;Mrs. Sharma was faced with this challenge of lack of resources and the inability of the parents to afford the same. While at home; she saw one of her old gadgets which was still in working conditions, just that it could not manage my excessive data load. It started by that one step in donating the old handset to one of the needy child on the 74th Independence day and inviting others to do so. This noble cause was noted by many enthusiasts and donors and became the news in Rajasthan and thus the chain began. There are independent donors who contact schools and donate their old gadgets which has also become one of the ways of recycling e-waste.