Pupils at a Havant junior school have been getting amped up during their second event which highlights the importance of electrical recycling.
Bosmere Junior School in Havant recently collaborated with electrical recycling company Southern Electrical Recycling (SER) to help educate the children in and raise awareness about the impacts of electronic waste on the planet.
The team at SER left empty boxes in the reception of the school, which pupils, teachers and parents encouraged to fill them up with unwanted technology during the month.
SER also provided the school with its mascot, WEEE Man, a robot-style character made from recycled plastic, with a built-in screen which played a presentation with educational information and facts about waste electrical and electronic equipment.
Across the week, people donated several items to be recycled by the firm, including mobile phones, tablets and other household equipment, such as toasters and hairdryers.
Josh Edwards from SER also held an assembly, where he showed the pupils a block of solid gold that was found in electrical circuit boards.
Josh said: ‘The kids were really impressed with the block of gold, it was such a hit. I don’t think they realised how much went into their tech and it was really rewarding to have educated them a little more about what goes into the toys, tablets and phones that they play with.’
Headteacher Caroline Fisk, who is working hard to make the school an Eco School, said the initiative was a success all round.
She said: ‘Bosmere’s pupils and their families really engaged with this project and the work of SER. As an Eco School, we are keen to encourage and support as much recycling as possible and the response has been amazing. Everyone particularly enjoyed having your WEEE man sitting at our front door to welcome people into the school. We would definitely like to run this project again!’
SER is hoping to bring more schools on board to adopt its Electrical Amnesty project to continue raising awareness of the effects of e-waste and is offering the boxes and WEEE Man for either a week, fortnight or month-long period.
Co-owner of the firm, David Edwards said: ‘Electrical recycling is an area of recycling that isn’t widely spoken about, but if we’ve made at least one young person aware of how important it really is, then we’ll have done our job. It’s a fun and interactive way for the kids to learn and it means that they’ll hopefully have a brighter future and will know how to look after the planet.’
