Pizza Pizza offers free slices in exchange for e-waste

You can get a free slice of pizza this month when you turn in an old camera, cellphone or MP3 player for recycling.

Pizza Pizza is once again launching its Slices for Devices campaign in April, which is Earth Month. Anyone who brings in a small electronic device that they want to get rid of to a Pizza Pizza restaurant in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Nova Scotia will get a free cheese or pepperoni slice, the company announced Thursday.

For the second year, the company is also accepting bulk electronic waste or e-waste from schools and businesses. That includes larger items such computers and screens. In exchange, Pizza Pizza will provide a gift card toward a pizza lunch or party.

The e-waste collected will be recycled and refurbished with the help of the Electronic Products Recycling Association and Ontario Electronic Stewardship. Proceeds from refurbished products will be donated to the Children's Miracle Network, Pizza Pizza says.

E-waste is typically not accepted by landfills, as it often contains toxic metals. In many cities, e-waste can be dropped off at specific locations, including some stores, or at special waste collection events on specific dates. But that's not necessarily convenient.

According to Statistics Canada's 2011 Households and the Environment Survey, about 46 per cent of households had stockpiled e-waste to dispose of at the time of the survey.

The survey showed that on average about three to seven per cent of electronics were put in the garbage, although the percentage was much higher in some provinces. In New Brunswick, for example, 20 per cent of households put old computers in the garbage, and 15 per cent of households put old TV and computer displays in the trash. 

Pizza Pizza says that since it first launched Slices for Devices in 2004, the program has collected nearly 17,000 devices.