Eight local projects to encourage electronic waste recovery have shared half a million pounds through a contest run by Virgin Media O2 and environmental charity Hubbub.
Initiatives from London to Hull secured grants through the Time After Time fund.
Established in 2022, the competition forms part of Virgin Media O2’s sustainability strategy, the Better Connections Plan.
This seeks to support 10 million circular actions to tackle e-waste and connect 1 million digitally excluded people across the UK to online services by the end of 2025.
Judges including TV presenter George Clarke, not-for-profit body Material Focus, digital inclusion charity Good Things Foundation, Hubbub and Virgin Media O2 sifted through more than 120 entries to the contest.
One of the winning schemes, Coventry City Council’s #CovConnects programme, will use an £80,000 grant to run a device-lending bank to distribute end-of-life council devices with free data allowances to people in need.
Virgin Media O2 chief sustainability officer Dana Haidan said: “The winners of this year’s Time After Time fund are an amazing set of innovative and inspiring projects led by talented people across the country.
“These brilliant initiatives will transform communities – providing devices, digital skills, support and training that will enrich people’s lives, give tech a second life and help protect the planet.”
