Waste from end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment, known as e-waste, is a rapidly growing global problem. Disposing of unwanted electronics in landfill can leach toxins such as lead and mercury into soil and water. These electronic devices contain valuable non-renewable resources such as gold, silver, copper, platinum, aluminum, and cobalt that are economically valuable when recycled.
However, many people assume that recycling is a waste of time. Also, many people need to learn or understand what can and cannot be recycled.
To highlight this issue and create awareness among people, Formula E Team Envision Racing has unveiled the Recover-E, a full-size, drivable Formula E Gen3 car made entirely from e-waste.
The racing car is revealed in London’s Excel on the eve of the London E-Prix- the final race of the 2022/23 Formula E season to highlight the increasing problem of electronic waste.
Envision Racing partnered with British artist and designer Liam Hopkins to design and build the race car from donated electronic products by the UK tech business, Music Magpie, and school children. The e-waste products use in its body include chargers, disposable vapes, mobile phones, laptops, MP3 players, and batteries themselves.
Through this campaign, the team wants to increase awareness of the human impact of e-waste and the need to reuse and recycle old electrical products.
“If the millions upon millions of Lithium batteries that are found in vapes and other products are recycled, it will dramatically reduce both the need for rare earth mineral mining and the large energy needed to create the batteries from scratch. We want to increase awareness of e-waste and help build a ‘circular economy’ where electrical products are reused or recycled, not thrown away.“
In 2022 Envision Racing launched the Race Against Climate Change (RACC) program to inspire and empower fans and the wider public to take climate action and mass adoption of e-mobility to accelerate the transition to clean, safe, and affordable renewable energy.
Along with the car, Envision Racing launched the Recover E, Waste to Race event to engage youth and fans around the world. Children and youth were invited to build their e-waste cars from recycled electronic materials.
Through this campaign, the Envision Racing team wants to raise awareness about the human impact of e-waste and the need to reuse and recycle old electrical products.
