Updated
Think twice before throwing that old computer into
landfill — it may be missing out on a second life as an electric bicycle
or 3D printer.
An innovation hub south of Brisbane is turning trash into hi-tech treasures.From electric bicycles to solar-run bluetooth portable speakers, volunteers at Logan's Substation33 have worked on projects that have bought in $1 million in the last year.
The money is pumped back into the 'hackerspace' to help fund other recycled inventions like affordable 3D printers made from old TVs and computer monitors or solar-run trailers that can light up a three-bedroom home using recycled laptop batteries.
Volunteer Bradley Chair is using old computer batteries to build a portable solar-powered battery or 'power well' with a base made from a recycled paint tin.
Now a trainer at the hub, his next step is to start using old USB outlets from recycled computers so people can charge their phones and charge their lights.
"This is the kind of thing that would make a huge difference to remote villages in parts of Indonesia," he said.
"Over the next six months we are going to try to install 100 of these power wells into villages with no power."
But it is the hub's ability to turn e-waste into a flooded smart road warning system that is bringing in the big dollars.
The project is also solar-powered with recycled lithium batteries and uses individual signs to provide real-time warnings to drivers with bright, flashing LED signs.
Substation33 founder Tony Sharp said they had sold 35 units to Logan City Council, which were vital when the effects of Cyclone Debbie hit the region last year.
It is in negotiations with two other south-east councils and has won several engineering design awards.
Mr Sharp said one aim was to educate his volunteer workers about electronic waste, the fastest growing waste in Australia.
"We class e-waste as anything that has had a plug or a battery, so DVD players, stereos, toasters, microwaves as well as computer," he said.
"That it is not actually waste, it can be up-cycled and made into something innovative.
"We process about 150,000 kilograms of e-waste every year with only 5 per cent having a final destination of landfill."
Photo:
The project processes 150,000 kilograms of e-waste every year. (Supplied: Queensland University of Technology)
Building new careers
The project is also helping the region's long-term unemployed get back on their feet."Some of these people have been stuck at home for four or five years," Mr Sharp said.
"If you have a big gap in your resume there is not much coming out the other end, so we can add to that resume".
Crystal Paulsen, 29, was stuck at home with no job for three years.
"Doing nothing does your head in — you get bored you have got nothing to do," she said.
"Coming here I get out of the house — I have gone from wondering what am I going to do with myself to having a goal."
Ms Paulsen had no tech skills when she first came to Substation33 but is now learning how to wire up LED panels for the flood signs.
"Now I am showing other people how to do it. I have learnt a lot, it is brilliant," she said.
Nathan Shaw has a Diploma in IT and business, but at the age of 38 he has been in and out of work.
He came to the centre initially as part of a work-for-the-dole program.
"It quickly gave me a sense of being wanted," he said.So much so he stayed on and is now a paid trainer helping tech "unsavvy" volunteers build the 3D printers.
Last year 40 volunteers got jobs back in the workforce and 10 other jobs for trainers and mentors were created in-house.
The success of the project led to a Queensland University of Technology study looking at "computer human interaction".
Lead researcher and electrical engineer Dr Dhaval Vyas said his focus on spaces like Substation33 can help people from low socio-economic backgrounds "get jobs and do something good in their lives".
"Traditional hubs are where you see more tech-savvy people, people who are a bit more affluent, but when I came here I saw people from the opposite spectrum," he said.
"I saw people who are working for the dole, people who are socially isolated and not well off financially.
Dr Vyas said he thought it was a "really nice story to tell".
"Improving self-esteem and making their own inventions, they are happier and healthier," he said.
"As one client told me this role is the reason he gets up in the morning — otherwise he'd be home watching the idiot box all day."
More than 400 volunteers moved through the e-waste project last year.
It is Mr Sharp's dream to duplicate the Substation33 model in every regional town in Australia.
"To process all that electronic waste and create employment — it is a no-brainer," he said.
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