St Paul's CofE Primary in Chessington won Kingston's E-Waste Race. Ten primary schools collected 3,917kg of old electronics in four weeks, and 732kg went for repair.
St Paul’s Church of England Primary School in Chessington has won Kingston’s E-Waste Race. Its pupils collected the most unwanted electronics per student of the ten primary schools that took part.
Between them, the schools gathered 3,917kg of old phones, cables, laptops and other devices in four weeks. Kingston Council announced the results on Tuesday 29 September.
The winners
- First: St Paul’s CofE Primary School, Chessington. The prize was a visit from a mobile animal farm, paid for by the phone maker Fairphone.
- Second: St Luke’s CofE Primary School. It received £500 from Surbiton Rotary Club.
The council has not published a full league table or the per-pupil figures behind the result.
All ten schools that took part:
- Burlington Junior School
- Castle Hill Primary School
- Christ Church C of E Primary School
- Fern Hill Primary School
- Grand Avenue
- Latchmere School
- St Andrew and St Mark’s C of E Junior School
- St Luke’s C of E Primary School
- St Mary’s C of E Primary
- St Paul’s C of E Primary School
What was collected
The council says more than 5,000 pupils, parents and residents took part. Of the 3,917kg they collected:
- 732kg went straight to repair and reuse
- 3,185kg was sent for recycling
That means almost one kilogram in every five came back into use as a working device rather than being broken down for materials.
Pupils ran collection points, gave talks to other classes and asked families and neighbours to clear out drawers at home. The race was coordinated by the council with the charities Race Against Waste and Solutions for the Planet. Two local firms, ReLove Technology and Limetrack, handled the collections. Members of the council’s Kingston Green Business Community also helped, including Just Clear, Save the World Club and Sunray Recycle.
Why the council ran it
The council’s portfolio holder for sustainable transport, waste and recycling said that roughly 570 tonnes of electronic waste goes into general bins in the borough each year. About 400 tonnes is put aside for recycling.
“Electronic waste contains valuable, finite minerals that are often lost for good when devices are thrown away,” the councillor said. “I’m so inspired by the local children who took part.”
The council says it is now looking for funding to run the race in every school in the borough. It also wants to put e-waste collection points in buildings such as libraries.
What it means for you
You do not have to wait for a school collection. The council opened 15 small electricals drop-off points in libraries, leisure centres and community hubs at the end of September. Some take working phones, laptops and tablets for reuse; others take broken items for recycling. Our guide lists which site takes what.
- Keep electricals out of your black bin. Anything thrown away there is lost for good, which is the problem the race was set up to tackle.
- Wipe phones and laptops first if they are going for reuse.
- Larger items such as microwaves can go to the Villiers Road reuse and recycling centre. Check your regular collections on our bin collection days page.
If your child’s school did not take part, it is worth telling the head. The council has said it wants to bring every school in.
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