Joshua Lowndes passed all his milestones as a baby. He walked and crawled and by the age of two could count and knew all the colours of the rainbow.
But his life changed dramatically when he started having complex partial seizures.
The uncontrollable fits led to an endless cocktail of drugs, stints in the ICU and eventually brain surgery.
His mother, Monique Lowndes, said from then on her only son had an acquired brain injury and became non-verbal.
"It was hell on wheels, it was really hard trying to maintain jobs, care for our daughter as well, keep Joshua safe, finding the right school and activities for him to do," she said.
"Heartbreaking … a tough road."
Joshua Lowndes and his mother Monique started the workshop. (Supplied)
In his early teens a passion developed.
"He did a bit of computer recycling in school and then he would come home and we actually lost a couple of TVs as he would pull them apart," she laughed.
"He would start undoing them, he would undo anything electronic he could lay his hands on."
Ms Lowndes said he was focused and determined and "just took to it".
"I started to look for something to harness that energy," she said.
That's how the social enterprise charity eWaste Connection was born.
People working in an inclusive space
Community based, the charity provides opportunities to train and empower people in an inclusive environment.
Set up in Joshua's honour, the work is a crucial part of his weekly routine.
It began in the Brisbane suburb of Kenmore, but is now also located in Yeronga and in North Booval in Ipswich.
So far more than 250 NDIS participants, along with scores of volunteers, have helped recycle more than 400,000 kilograms of e-waste.
Maddie Ketley is one of the young female volunteers involved with the workshop. (ABC News: Lexy Hamilton-Smith)
They accept anything that plugs into a power point, uses a charger or is powered by a battery.
"There is no danger, you can't go wrong, you know if they can't break something down then we can always smash it, which some of the boys love to do," Ms Lowndes joked.
Nearly everything is recycled, repurposed or reused, with refurbished goods also sold to the public at cheap prices, or given to the Salvation Army or local domestic violence charities.
Robbie Kennedy (left) and Adrian Mateo (right) also volunteer at the workshop. (Supplied)
For clients like 51-year-old Robbie Kennedy, it has given him a reason to get out of bed, teaching him to turn up on time, wear PPE and use power tools to unpack components.
"This is my fourth year coming up, I love it actually, I have made lots of friends. It is a great place to work," he said.
51-year-old Robbie Kennedy gave ABC's Lexy Hamilton-Smith a workshop demonstration. (ABC News)
For 20-year-old Adrian Mateo, who has Down Syndrome, the work has helped his fine motor skills and made him feel like he is contributing to the community, his support worker Sharon Bentley said.
"He sings every time he knows he is coming here," she said.
"He likes to repeat things over and over so this is good for him unscrewing electronics, and developing social skills with others."
Disability support worker Johnny Munday has been bringing Tom Connel for seven years.
"Tom gets up in the morning and puts his e-waste t-shirt on, even on days when we are not due to come here," he said.
"And it has taught him so many skills because everything is a bit like a puzzle here, so it is problem solving and also a great community.
"But this is also about the environment, stopping electronic waste from being dumped into landfill."
A new career path
Like Ms Lowndes, it was a twist of fate that saw Ben Fehres sign up to manage the Yeronga facility.
Originally a musician and booking agent, he lost his livelihood during COVID.
"I love tinkering with electronics and was then looking for something else to do," he said.
"I had a broken television and brought it to e-waste and went wow what is this place?
"I started volunteering and after four months … Monique offered me a job here to manage.
"Would it work? We didn't know, but yeah, it worked. And four years later, we're still going strong here and I now love working in the disability sector."
Debbie Jackson and Ben Fehres both volunteer at the facility. (ABC News: Lexy Hamilton-Smith)
Mr Fehres said it was "satisfying seeing a smile on their face".
"Some of our clients might be struggling to pull a screw out, so to just take a few screws out is an accomplishment," he said.
"We get a lot of special school students in too and the kids love to know they are pulling apart old electronics and that they can be recycled.
"And the community donors love it because they don't want all this waste to go into a dump."
Adrian Mateo fixing tools in a workshop. (ABC News: Lexy Hamilton-Smith)
Ms Lowndes said the impact e-waste had on the planet was frightening and ever-growing.
"So we are taking action recycling more than 95 per cent of items we get into useful products and bi-products," she said.
The former tax accountant now manages the three sites, with a vision to "empower people to thrive and belong".
"I mean, you know, you don't expect to raise a child who is still so dependent on you at 24," she said.
"There was a lot of trial and error with his epilepsy, and that was heartache for me as a mother, to keep tinkering with drugs to try and find the right one.
"It was really an awful time in my life and I'm glad that's behind me.
"Seeing all of them, including Joshua, enjoying themselves — that's the heart of it."