Not for profit environmental education company, Wastebuster, has announced the launch of a “Hidden Treasure Hunt” competition for school kids delivered through a new partnership with Currys, Microsoft, and Recycle Your Electricals.
Waste Week 2022, which runs from 7-13 March 2022, is calling on over 3.8 million students and parents to make this the largest collection of e-waste in the UK.
Over 200 schools have already signed up to Waste Week and Wastebuster are now calling for more schools to sign up to take part in the Hidden Treasure Hunt.
The competition will be delivered through a new partnership with Currys, Microsoft, and Recycle Your Electricals.
Launched in 2008, Waste Week is an annual campaign that helps schools and families in Wastebuster’s network of 17,800 schools in the UK, to reduce, reuse, and recycle to unlock social, economic, and environmental benefits for their local communities and the planet.
This partnership will help teach young children the importance of ending electrical waste and adapting to a more circular economy
E-Waste is the fastest growing waste stream both globally and in the UK. For 2022 Waste Week is focusing on electrical and tech waste that is often hidden around people’s homes, to help students understand the benefits of choosing more environmental and sustainable solutions for their old and unwanted electricals and tech.
According to Material Focus research, 155,000 tonnes of electricals are thrown away, with 527 million items hidden in UK homes.
Moira Thomas, Group Director of Sustainable Business, Currys, said: “We recognise the growing issue of e-waste and as the UK’s largest electronics retailer, we have a responsibility to do our part to help everyone give their technology longer life through repair, recycling and reuse.
“Young people are hugely passionate and engaged with environmental matters, so it’s fantastic to be working in partnership with Wastebusters, Microsoft and Material Focus to elevate awareness of end-of-life options for electronics, which have become such a fundamental part of our everyday lives.
“This partnership will help teach young children the importance of ending electrical waste and adapting to a more circular economy.”
A wide range of new curriculum-linked, media-rich educational resources will be available for teachers to support student learning and the launch of the competition. This includes an entertaining film, featuring popular children’s characters, exploring how electrical and tech waste is recycled.
Hidden Treasure Hunt
The Hidden Treasure Hunt is inviting schools to help get more of the unwanted electricals and electronics hidden around people’s homes, recycled across the UK, by inspiring students, families and their communities to find any unwanted items and take them into a Currys store.
Any unwanted broken or working electricals from hairdryers to tablets, mobile phones, to kitchen appliances can be taken to Currys.
Schools that are not in a locality near to a Currys store, are being encouraged to have their school community take their old electricals to their nearest recycling point, which can be found on the Recycle Your Electricals postcode locator to promote care for the environment.
There are considerable rewards for schools for encouraging their communities to recycle. £5k of Microsoft tech will be won by the school that gets the most students and families to clear out their old electricals, and tech, £2k for the second place school, £1k for third and fourth placed schools and a £500 prize draw raffle for two schools that have got involved.
Young people are our secret weapons in the fight against waste. If we teach them well, they will take the right messages home to their families. But children need to be empowered with the right information to make the right end-of-life consumer choices.
Every family that takes their unwanted electrical or tech ‘treasure’ to a Currys store during The Hidden Treasure Hunt (17 March – 14 April 2022) will also receive a £5 ‘Cash for Trash’ discount voucher (which can be redeemed on purchases of £25 and over).
The Pod, Wastebuster’s campaign platform actively encourages young people to consider how they can act more responsibly and sustainably, in their everyday lives. The platform has a member network of over 17,800 schools in the UK, including 40% of UK primary schools and 1 in 3 secondary schools, and engages over 4 million young people.
Katy Newnham, Founder, Wastebuster, commented: “Young people are our secret weapons in the fight against waste. If we teach them well, they will take the right messages home to their families. But children need to be empowered with the right information to make the right end-of-life consumer choices.”
“Waste Week this year not only supports school children and families to learn about the environmental benefits of electrical and tech reuse and recycling but encourages and rewards them for taking part. Putting children and their families at the heart of driving and benefiting from circular economy growth’’
