Currys is once again supporting a nationwide campaign encouraging primary school children and their families to uncover unwanted electricals hidden in their homes, as the Hidden Treasure Hunt returns for a second year.
The initiative aims to tackle the estimated 880 million unused electrical items currently gathering dust in UK households, with schools and families encouraged to find, reuse, repair or recycle unwanted technology.
Developed and delivered by education and sustainability organisation Wastebuster, the Hidden Treasure Hunt forms part of the national Recycle Your Electricals campaign. It is being run in partnership with Currys, Material Focus, Ecogenesys, DHL and GAP Group.
The campaign works by giving primary schools free educational resources, including lessons, activities and posters, to help children understand the value of the materials contained in everyday electrical products and the importance of keeping them in circulation.
Pupils are then encouraged to take what they have learned home and become ‘treasure hunters’, searching their households for old, broken or unwanted electricals. These could include mobile phones, tablets, headphones, chargers, electrical toys and electric toothbrushes.
Rather than simply throwing these items away, families are encouraged to recycle broken products or donate, sell or trade in those that are still working.
Families can register qualifying recycling visits to earn Planet Care points for their chosen school, helping it climb the campaign leaderboard. There is also the opportunity for families to win individual prizes, including £100 Currys gift cards.
A total of £20,000 in Currys gift cards is available for participating schools, which can be used to purchase technology to support learning. New for this year’s campaign, schools will compete on separate leaderboards for small and large schools, giving institutions of different sizes a better opportunity to win.
The three highest-ranking schools in each category will receive gift cards worth £5,000, £2,500 and £1,000 respectively.
The campaign builds on the success of its first year, when more than 59,000 recycling visits were recorded and almost 79,000 electrical items were given the opportunity to be repaired, reused or recycled.
According to research from Material Focus, the organisation behind the Recycle Your Electricals campaign, there are around 30 unwanted electrical items in the average UK household.
The campaign also highlights the importance of disposing of electrical products safely. Lithium-ion batteries found in many everyday devices can cause fires if damaged or crushed in general waste or household recycling.
Moira Thomas, Group Sustainability and ESG Director at Currys, said: “We’re on a mission to give tech a longer life, so we’d love even more schools and families to get involved and bring their old tech to their local store.”
