TechCollect, an industry-funded, free to the public national recycling service for computers, computer accessories and TVs, has revealed the 2015 winners of its Young E-Waste Hero program. Three students demonstrated their understanding of the impact that e-waste has on the environment, winning $1750 worth of cash prizes.
To enter the competition, students were asked to submit a creative entry around the issue of e-waste, in the format of their choice: a drawing, video, written story or poem.
First prize was awarded to seven year-old, Beckley Kleynhans, from Eltham Victoria. The runners-up were nine year-old Inara Cruise, from Bellerive Tasmania and eight year-old, Ryder Hurwitz, from Rose Bay.
“We were incredibly impressed by the level of talent and enthusiasm that our Young E-waste Heroes showed towards solving the problem of e-waste,” TechCollect CEO, Carmel Dollisson said.
Carmel believes that young Australians play a key role in taking responsibility for e-waste.
“At TechCollect, we believe it is essential that young Australians know about the importance of recycling e-waste, and celebrate their enthusiasm for making a difference to our environment – especially as each generation is hungrier for new technology than the last.”
“It is important for us to stop and think about our old technology and what we are going to do with it – to ensure our devices don’t end up in landfill, which can have a negative effect on the environment and deny us the opportunity to reuse those valuable resources in new products,” she added.