FAQ
Your frequently asked
questions answered by us.
What is the difference between the column and the newsletter?
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Our column is published weekly. It mostly covers new or recent developments in law, policy, and business. Our columns are only roughly 450 words long and published on LinkedIn and our website. They are always written by Christine Nikander.
Our newsletter is published monthly. It focuses on broader developments and social justice questions. Our newsletters are only roughly 1500 to 1700 words long and on LinkedIn, on Substack, and on our blog. They are commonly written by Christine Nikander together with a guest contributor.
What is The E-Waste Learning Hub?
The E-Waste Learning Hub is our new e-learning platform. The platform allows learners to gain an overview of key topics related to raw materials, circularity, and the just energy transition. By purchasing a subscription, learners can access all of our content fully remotely and learn at their own pace.
To date, the pilot platform entails 40+ short learning modules that we are consistently working to build out and improve. The learning modules on the pilot platform are still largely text-based. Through the purchase of a subscription, you can support us in raising the funds to create more interactive learning components (such as videos and quizzes) for our e-learning platform.
When will the first learning modules be available
to users through The E-Waste Learning Hub?
We are currently working hard behind the scenes to create the first set of pilot learning modules for our new e-learning platform. We plan to make these available to users on 1 September 2025. You can browse through the 30+ short learning modules that are planned here.
In which language(s) will the learning modules
of The E-Waste Learning Hub be available?
The first pilot learning modules will be available in English as of 1 September 2025. You can browse through these here.
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In the future, we plan to also translate our learning modules into German. This will be done by Christine Nikander and Heidrun Kordholste-Nikander to make sure nothing is lost in translation and that the content is reflected accurately in German.
What is TransitionED?
TransitionED is the mobile app version of The E-Waste Learning Hub. The pilot version of the app will be made available to users on 1 September 2025.​
What is The E-Waste Database?
The E-Waste Database in the predecessor of The E-Waste Learning Hub. In other words, it is an early text-based prototype of the e-learning platform we are now building. The database will be it is phased out on 1 September 2025.
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Our database allows learners to access content remotely and learn at their own pace. It covers 30+ topics and entails 200+ learning entries. These are broadly focused on raw materials, circularity, and the just energy transition.
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Alongside with its learning function, our database acts as an easily searchable public archive of our research. We have added close to all of the information from our columns and newsletters to the database.
Why have we made a prototype of
our e-learning platform available for free?
The E-Waste Database is an early prototype of the e-learning platform we are building. To maximize the reach of our educational resources, our database will be publicly accessible, without charging any fees to its users, until it is phased out on 1 September 2025.​
What information is included in The E-Waste Learning Hub and The E-Waste Database?
In The E-Waste Learning Hub and The E-Waste Database, you can browse through close to all the information on e-waste, transition minerals, and critical raw materials that we have compiled for The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter since September 2022.​
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The E-Waste Learning Hub also includes information going beyond what was published in our columns and newsletters.
Is the news and media coverage of The E-Waste Column independent?
The views reflected in The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter are the writers' own and based on their own research.
The column and newsletter do not receive funding from any external or third parties that are in a position to influence the content or perspective of the column or the newsletter.
What distinguishes the news and media coverage of The E-Waste Column from other news providers?
The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter both actively aim to shed light on social justice questions in the context of the energy transition and to bring on board voices and perspectives that might not otherwise be heard.
What is the aim of The E-Waste Column?
The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, and The E-Waste Learning Hub are predominantly aimed at educating the public about e-waste, transition minerals, and critical raw materials.
Both publications and the e-learning platform particularly empathize educating readers on matters related to a just transition, social impact, and social justice. In line with this, they will often address and discuss social, labor, gender, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and other human rights issues.
Does The E-Waste Column have a social mission?
The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter both aim to create more space for the voices of historically underrepresented groups in the corporate sustainability, energy, and mining sectors.
Has The E-Waste Column won any awards?
In December 2024, The E-Waste Column was featured in The Bloom’s "30 Under 30 Social Impact".
How old is The E-Waste Column?
Our founder, Christine Nikander, began doing research into e-waste, conflict minerals, and circularity in the summer of 2015.
We published our first weekly column in September 2022 and our first monthly newsletter at the end of November 2023.
Why are there so many women writers at The E-Waste Column?
We ask talented writers and skilled sustainability professionals to write for us. Many of these are unsurprisingly highly educated women.
I am looking to get a better overview of the life cycle of an EV battery. Is there a resource that can help me with this?
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Palsa & Pulk B.V. has created an interactive visual on the life cycle of an EV battery together with students from the Master's program in sustainable development at Utrecht University. The visual is now freely accessible to all on Palsa & Pulk's website and can be accessed here.
Why is The E-Waste Column predominantly written
by someone trained in law?
Our founder, Christine Nikander, is an environmental lawyer, who is specialized in waste and circularity laws. She began doing research into e-waste, conflict minerals, and circularity in the summer of 2015.
Through The E-Waste Column, Christine Nikander particularly aims to give readers a better understanding of the regulatory and policy framework in which e-waste, transition minerals, and critical raw materials markets operate.
Can I suggest a (potential) topic to The E-Waste Column?
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You are most welcome to drop us a line with suggestions for topics that you would like to see us cover in future columns or newsletters. You can do this via our contact form or by e-mail.
What topics has The E-Waste Column covered so far?
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You can explore all the past topics covered by The E-Waste Column in The E-Waste Database.
Does The E-Waste Column use AI-generated content?
The E-Waste Column, The E-Waste Newsletter, The E-Waste Learning Hub, and The E-Waste Database do not use artificial intelligence (AI) to create or generate content.
There are four main reasons behind this choice: (1) AI-generated content is often biased against historically underrecognized groups and it is particularly the voices and concerns of these groups that we want to amplify through our educational resources; (2) We seek to fund writers and creators from historically underrecognized groups rather than use AI-generated content (for which the input contents' original creators are not being rightfully paid); (3) We seek to respect the content, intellectual property, and copyright of other writers and creators and AI currently still fails to do this sufficiently; (4) We want our educational resources to be copyrightable and AI-generated content is not copyrightable (because it is not the work of a human creator and is generated without any human creative contribution).
Can I invite Christine Nikander or other contributors
to The E-Waste Column to write for me?
If you would like one of us to write something for you, please contact us via our contact form or by e-mail.
As our time and expertise has a real value, we will only write for you in the context of commercial or revenue-generating purposes when being paid a fair compensation. Titles, exposure, and "impressive resume lines" will not pay our bills — so if you are not willing to adequately compensate us for our time, kindly refrain from reaching out altogether.
Underpaying writers and creators does not make you a savvy business person; it is just exploitative and disrespectful.
Can I invite Christine Nikander or other contributors to The E-Waste Column to speak at my event?
If you would like one of us to speak at your event(s), please contact us via our contact form or by e-mail.
Our time and expertise has a market value. This also means that we will only come speak at your corporate event(s) for a fair compensation. Exposure and "nice CV lines" will not pay our bills — so if you are not willing to adequately compensate us, please save us all the time and kindly refrain from messaging us.
Offering highly educated women (or skilled sustainability professionals, for that matter) more unpaid speaking opportunities at corporate events is in no way going to make the world a better place.
Can I partner with The E-Waste Column
to do research or create educational content?
If you are interested in partnering with us for research or educational purposes, please contact us via our contact form or by e-mail.
Our expertise and time has a value, which means we also expect to be fairly remunerated for our work where appropriate.
Does The E-Waste Column sell subscriptions to its readers?​
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If you are interested, you can purchase a subscription to our pilot e-learning platform here.
The E-Waste Column and The E-Waste Newsletter do not currently sell their own subscriptions to readers. If you are interested, you can however express your interest by signing up for a future newsletter subscription via our Substack.
How can I support The E-Waste Column?
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If you enjoy the column and newsletter, you can support us by telling a friend or colleague about our work or by donating a cup of tea. You can also purchase a subscription to our pilot e-learning platform here. You will find more ways to support our work here.
Was your question not answered?​
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You will find the answers to questions on legal, funding, copyright, licensing, and privacy matters here. If you cannot find the answers you were looking for anywhere on our website, please reach out via our contact form or by e-mail.
