Age
17
Country of Residence
South Africa
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
Looking around our classrooms and homes, we noticed how quickly old cables, dead batteries, broken chargers, and old phones accumulate in drawers or get thrown straight into general trash bins. During a class discussion on environmental hazards, we realized that while paper and plastic recycling are commonly talked about, electronic waste is almost entirely ignored in our school and neighborhood. We knew that these discarded devices contain hazardous materials like lead and mercury that poison local soil and water. The spark came when we realized our school could serve as a centralized community drop-off hub, turning student habit into an effective, localized e-waste collection system.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
We engage our peers through interactive classroom challenges such as Cable & Battery Drives where classes compete to collect the most household e-waste for recognition. We also train student volunteers to serve as "Eco-Ambassadors" who help manage drop-off bins and explain e-waste safety to their classmates, turning awareness into active youth leadership.
How many people are on your team?
2
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
In our first phase, our goal is to divert over 150 kilograms of electronic waste and batteries from local landfills within three months. We aim to reach over 300 students through our educational drives, encouraging at least 50 families to actively bring in unused household e-waste. By tracking the total weight and types of electronics collected, we will provide transparent impact updates to our school, proving that small youth actions can eliminate significant hazardous waste from our environment.
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Idea (We’re hoping to get started in the future)
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
A youth-led initiative establishing e-waste collection points and educational drives to prevent toxic electronic waste from reaching local landfills.
Project title
CircuitCycle: Youth E-Waste Action Hub
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Electronic waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams, yet safe disposal options in our immediate community are virtually non-existent. Most households dump old electronics into general refuse, leading to hazardous heavy metals leaching into ground soil and drainage systems when buried in municipal landfills or burned. Furthermore, most students and families are simply unaware of the environmental risks associated with e-waste or do not know where to safely take these items. Addressing this problem protects our local ecosystem, prevents hazardous soil contamination, and instills lifelong responsible habits regarding modern technology disposal.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://www.instagram.com/lazybunzy?stkn=YTZyOTZwYWg1MXh5
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next three months, we will install our first set of secure e-waste bins at school, finalize collection schedules with our recycling partner, and launch a launch campaign across classrooms. Over the next year, we plan to expand collection points to neighboring schools and community centers, hosting bi-monthly tech-recycling drop-off events to maximize our reach.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
While traditional environmental drives focus on common materials like paper, glass, or plastic bottles, our initiative directly addresses the rapidly growing issue of electronic waste—a category rarely targeted by school projects. Instead of relying on expensive infrastructure, we utilize our school as an existing community gathering point, turning it into an accessible drop-off zone. By combining convenient hardware collection with youth-driven education on tech sustainability, we bridge the gap between everyday technology use and responsible waste management.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
We are setting up a dedicated E-Waste Collection Hub right at our school in partnership with certified local e-waste recyclers. We place clearly labeled, secure collection bins in high-traffic areas for small electronics, charging cords, old batteries, and hardware. Alongside the physical collection points, we organize peer-led awareness drives and classroom presentations explaining the life cycle of tech products and the hazards of improper disposal. Once our collection bins reach capacity, our certified recycling partners collect and safely process the materials, recovering valuable metals and ensuring toxic components are handled safely.
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Mbalenhle handles relations with certified recycling partners, coordinates collection bin placement, and monitors e-waste inventory and transport. Luthando designs awareness materials, coordinates classroom presentations, and manages school announcements. We share leadership by co-hosting awareness sessions and jointly deciding on project expansion and scheduling.
