🌱 How much e-waste originates from toys?
Toys are a considerable source of e-waste. Roughly 7.3 billion e-toys – so an average of one toy per person on Earth – are discarded each year. These include car racing sets, drones, electric trains, music toys, and talking dolls, amongst others. According to a recent survey by Cartoon Network, most children (87%) have at least one e-waste item at home. The top three e-waste items amongst children were toys, headphones, and tablets. Many children said that “they store e-waste items at home or throw them away”. The lack of knowledge on proper disposal methods shows that there is a need to better educate children and/or their parents on the topic.
🌱 Do children know what e-waste is?
According to the survey by Cartoon Network, 70% of children – aged 6-11 across the EMEA region – had either “not heard of e-waste” or they were aware of e-waste but were “not sure” or “had no idea what it means”. The survey also showed that children in Poland (47%) and South Africa (28%) “are more familiar with e-waste” than children in the UK (19%) and France (17%). Polish children (81%) are also “more likely to link e-waste with the correct definition” compared to children in the UK (26%) and France (19%).
🌱 What does Cartoon Network plan to do to raise awareness?
Cartoon Network has partnered up with Envision Racing to raise more awareness around e-waste. Based on the results of the survey, the two plan “to launch a cross-platform EMEA wide campaign to inform, engage, and empower children about e-waste”. The planned campaign “aims to raise awareness and understanding through new, fun, relatable, and inspiring content designed to encourage action”.
🌱 What new resources will there be?
The Cartoon Network channel will air new video content on e-waste, which includes a video guide to e-waste “that explains what e-waste is, why it’s an important issue and the basics of how we can help tackle it”. Additionally, Cartoon Network plans to “share weekly uploads to its social and YouTube channels to help broaden reach”. Children will also be able to find content on e-waste – such as challenges, facts, informative videos, quizzes, trivia, and voting cards – in the “Cartoon Network Climate Champions” app and website.
💡 Are you interested in learning more about the material and energy use, environmental and social impacts, and EU regulations that apply to the different life stages of an electric vehicle battery? Then, have a look at Palsa & Pulk’s new interactive visual.
Read more about Cartoon Network’s campaign here:
- https://advanced-television.com/2024/07/01/survey-70-of-children-in-emea-never-heard-of-e-waste/
- https://envision-racing.com/envision-racing-cartoon-network-launch-roblox-game-to-engage-kids/
- https://worldscreen.com/tvkids/new-survey-on-childrens-knowledge-of-electronic-waste/
- https://worldscreen.com/tvkids/new-survey-on-childrens-knowledge-of-electronic-waste/