Time After Time

Time After Time

We’re helping Gen-Z connect with an issue that feels distant and difficult to relate to: electronic waste.

Less than half of young people know phones thrown in the general bin will end up in landfill or incinerated, and nearly 4 in 10 have thrown a phone in the bin at home (Hubbub, 2023).

We’ve partnered with Virgin Media O2 to create a campaign and movement that works with young people for action on e-waste.

In the first year of Time After Time, 76% of our audience became more aware of how to reduce e-waste and 81% more determined to do so. In the second year, 97% of those we engaged learned something new about e-waste and 88.9% intend to take actions like recycling, donating, passing on, selling and repairing their old tech.

Tech a look at the bigger picture...

E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world. Some reports say by 2040 the production and use of electronics will make up 14% of global carbon emissions. Many of earth’s most valuable minerals aren’t in the ground, but are sitting in people’s homes or landfill sites because of what we keep and how we throw things away. We know from our Community Calling campaign with Virgin Media O2 that valuable devices and materials can go on to have a second life that builds social inclusion with an environmental impact.

Phones and tech are integral to Gen-Z living: life skills, schoolwork, shopping, scrolling and socialising all rely on digital spaces and tech. But e-waste - waste from electronic items - isn’t on the cultural radar in the same way as second-hand fashion is for young people. It doesn’t connect, and so there’s little knowledge or motivation to act on it.

Leading the charge for circular actions on tech

Through the Time After Time campaign, we’re spreading the word about how to keep our current devices in use for longer, recycle old devices properly, and buy refurbished instead of new.

• We’ve worked with young people to co-create sharable e-waste tips for social media, organised repair fairs and e-waste collection points in universities across the UK.
• Over two years, we've collaborated on 15 influencer-led pieces TikToks that reached our target audience 2.2 million times and generated 80,000+ likes 700+ comments.
• We've run hackathons and creative challenges with 230 young people. Hackathons support young people to explore e-waste and co-create solutions, as well as use their subject matter expertise, including game design, creative writing, graphic design, photography and behavioural economics.