2nd January 2008
 Two thirds of young people surveyed don’t know that their old iPods (69%), digital cameras (73%) and BlackBerrys (70%) can be recycled, according to figures out today.
Oxfam and the UK Youth Parliament are warning that despite many young people being keen recyclers, few realise that they can recycle unwanted electronic gadgets after Christmas, with many either throwing items into the bin, or leaving them languishing in a drawer. 1 in 5 young people surveyed (21%) has thrown an unwanted gadget in the bin in the past.
Oxfam and the UK Youth Parliament are joining forces to encourage young people across the UK to set up recycling collections in their schools. The initiative is part of their ‘Don’t Get Rid – Get Recycling’ campaign, and aims to get 1000 schools signed up in the coming months.
Over half the young people surveyed said they would donate their gadgets to a recycling scheme run by a charity in the future.
Catherine Rawsthorne, Member of Youth Parliament, 17 years old, commented,
“It is shocking so few young people are aware they can recycle things like iPods. In spite of the credit crunch we know that millions of young people will have received new iPods, digital cameras, mobile phones and BlackBerrys for Christmas and there will be old, unwanted gadgets lying around in homes throughout the country.
“Recycling these gadgets should be commonplace, but with too few young people even realising that they can be recycled, it seems that many will continue to get left in a drawer, or simply thrown in the bin.”
For more information about the Oxfam/UK Youth Parliament campaign, please click here. |
