WATERVILLE — The Waterville nonprofit “give IT. get IT.” is working to reduce Maine’s electronic waste and increase connectivity across the state.
The group recycles hundred of thousands of pounds of unwanted electronics per year that would otherwise go to landfills.
“[We get] probably 700,000 pounds of electronics every year,” said Chris Martin, the group’s co-founder. “We try to recover what we can for reuse for the community.”
For more than 20 years, the group has taken e-waste from banks and small businesses to get technology into the hands of students, low-income families and others in need.
However, since the start of the pandemic, they say they’ve seen an increased demand for their low-to-no-cost computers.
“We usually get around 1,000 to 1,500 requests a year,” said Martin. “The pandemic hit, and we saw a 400% increase in requests for help to over 4,000 to 5,000 requests per year — upwards of 25% …