Search Website

0333 4330 370 0333 4330 370

Electricals Awareness Campaign

Raising awareness about e-waste in the Bristol community.

Moving the dial on e-waste awareness

Apart from Norway, the UK is the largest producer of electrical waste (e-waste) in the world! We produce around 23.9 kg of e-waste per head, with around 40 million devices and appliances sitting unused in UK homes, or many ending up in landfill. The #ElectricAvenue campaign was created to inspire Bristolians to think differently about their old electrical items.

Electrifying campaign

The campaign aimed to show that second-hand electricals still have value and highlight the environmental impact of e-waste – the world’s fastest growing and most toxic waste stream. It intended to create a new way to collect electronics for reuse and recycling, and to ultimately build a replicable model based on what has worked in Bristol. The end goal is to extend the model to the rest of the city and the UK. As well as extending the life of electronic items, the campaign highlighted the value of materials they contain, such as metals which are finite resources and should be recovered in the recycling process and not put in general waste streams.

Disrupting the status quo

Launched on Black Friday, the 10-day campaign opened the doors to ‘Electric Avenue’: a pop-up shop that restored and rehomed used electricals, donated by Bristol residents, free of charge! As soon as they were dropped off at the pop-up shop, the electrical items were fully cleaned, and professionally safety checked to ensure they were ready for a new life with another household. Our team volunteered in-store and were on hand to help explain the important role of reuse and repair, with customers encouraged to drop off unwanted electrical goods in-store and via a Reuse Shop in Avonmouth, Bristol.

"We know consumers want to do their bit to save the planet, but they don’t always know that disposing properly of their old electricals is one of the actions that can make a difference. With Electric Avenue we encourage citizens to move up the e-waste hierarchy by promoting repair, reuse or donation of their unwanted electricals, before hoarding, recycling, or worse, throwing them away." Stephanie Housty Marketing Manager, Ecosurety

Power-driven results

Bristol residents were charged up by #ElecticAvenue and the results are evident with over 1000 customers visiting the pop-up store. 5000 residents were reached through an engaging leaflet campaign calling for donations of unwanted electricals which were then collected from kerbside. A resounding buzz was created from 75 social media posts, with 175,000 people reached, and over 29 million people reading about the magnetising campaign in the press!

Amazing support

The campaign gratefully received donations of: • 120 items from kerbside collections in response to the leaflet • 46 items dropped off in the #ElectricAvenue shop • 166 items from the Bristol Waste Re-use Shop in Avonmouth

All 322 items were rehomed over 10 days!

100% of customers surveyed would want to see the #ElectricAvenue store return in the future.

“Whilst it’s easy to be lured by the discounts and deals of Black Friday, our electrifying new pop-up shop aims to disrupt and challenge our habits and obsession with buying brand new and shines a spotlight on the value of electrical items that we’re so quick to dispose of when they’re no longer of use or broken.” Gavin Ellis Co-founder, Hubbub

How can you support?

Give your used electricals a new home by donating them to your nearest charity shop. Make sure to check that the charity shop will accept the electricals. Find a local repair café to fix your broken electricals. Head to a local recycling point made for e-waste to recycle your e-waste safely.

Check this map for e-waste recycling near you.