E-Waste Race: Schools in Trier collect electronic waste for environmental protection!

E-Waste Race: Schools in Trier collect electronic waste for environmental protection!

With the upcoming E-Waste Race initiative, Trier is sending a strong signal for environmental protection and sustainability. The campaign will start at the end of August 2025 and aims to collect electronic waste while promoting environmental awareness among students. According to 5vier.de, schools from Trier and the Trier-Saarburg district can register free of charge until June 8th.

The project enables ten school classes in grades 4 to 7 to take part in a competition to collect the highest possible amount of electronic waste. The winning team can look forward to a school trip to the Völklinger Hütte. Around 1.7 million tons of electronic waste are generated in Germany every year, more than half of which is not recycled. The E-Waste Race competition was initiated to counteract the low collection rate and to recycle valuable raw materials.

A sustainable educational project

The E-Waste Race has been a project that has been active in the Netherlands since 2014 and has now been brought to Germany through the “Das macht Schule” initiative. Over 100 schools have already learned about the benefits of this campaign since autumn 2021. The project highlights the importance of environmental education by actively involving students in e-waste collection. Over a period of four weeks, the students collect electronic waste from their neighborhood and at the same time educate residents about the problems of electronic waste handling. This leads to positive behavioral changes both among students and those around them, according to research from Eindhoven University of Technology.

In addition, the E-Waste Race is accompanied by a website that coordinates the collection times and locations. The competition offers not only interactive lessons, but also materials to prepare students for the action. This encouraging waste reduction method has earned the project several awards, including the Energy Globe Award Netherlands 2017 and the Circular Award Public Netherlands 2021, underlining the relevance and impact of this project.

The urgency of the e-waste problem

According to ewasterace.de, many devices such as cell phones, DVD players and toasters lie unused in German households. The lower collection rate means that valuable raw materials that could be obtained from electronic waste are lost. The E-Waste Race offers an innovative solution to increase awareness of recycling and promote sustainable behavior in society.

By being nominated as one of the 30 Local Heroes for the German Sustainability Award in 2022, the E-Waste Race has also proven its importance in the area of ​​environmental initiatives. The deadline for interested schools to register is June 8th, and students have the opportunity to win not only for their school, but also for the environment.