LG Electronics Employees Volunteer as Circular Economy Teachers for Elementary Students

Activities Promoting the Need for Resource Circulation of Waste Electronic Products

LG Electronics employees will serve as one-day teachers for elementary school children on the resource circulation of waste electronic products, carrying out environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities.

LG Electronics announced that from the 6th to the 14th, starting at Sangwon Elementary School in Nowon-gu, Seoul, it will conduct resource circulation education for electrical and electronic products at eight elementary schools in Seoul. The education is part of the 'E-Circulation School' program conducted by E-Circulation Governance, a nonprofit public interest corporation authorized by the Ministry of Environment, targeting youth. It is carried out through the voluntary participation of LG Electronics employees.

LG Electronics employees who served as instructors explained the types of waste causing earth pollution and their severity, emphasizing the necessity of resource circulation. Using educational materials including illustrations to make it easy for elementary students to understand, they introduced how to properly dispose of waste electronic products at home and the recycling process of waste electronic products. In fact, LG Electronics applies recycled plastics obtained from waste home appliances to various products such as the Tiiun Mini and PuriCare Aero Furniture.

An LG Electronics employee conducting 'E-Circulation School' education at Chungmu Elementary School in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 11th / Photo by LG Electronics

In addition to programs with external organizations such as E-Circulation School, LG Electronics also conducts ESG education for youth on its own. Since 2014, it has been operating the 'ESG University Student Academy' to raise ESG awareness among university students and nurture talent in the field. Up to last year, a total of about 270 university students have completed the academy.

As part of building a circular economy, waste electronic product collection and recycling programs are being operated in 87 regions across 52 countries worldwide, including Korea. In Korea, the Chilseo Recycling Center in Haman-gun, Gyeongnam, is representative. Established in 2001, this facility is equipped to process 75 refrigerators, 50 washing machines, and 50 small appliances and air conditioners per hour. From 2006 to recently, the amount of waste electronic products collected and processed has exceeded 4 million tons, with plans to collect a total of 8 million tons by 2030.

Recently, programs have also been conducted where customers can directly participate in resource circulation and feel a sense of fulfillment. Through a wireless vacuum cleaner waste battery collection campaign held for two months from May at nationwide LG Best Shop stores and others, 160,000 tons of batteries equivalent to 35,000 CodeZero A9S batteries were collected. Within the company, a campaign to collect waste mobile phones held since 2011 has steadily continued, with the total number of collected waste mobile phones recently exceeding 10,000 units.

Hong Sung-min, head of the ESG Strategy Office, said, "We will prioritize eco-friendliness throughout the planning, production, use, and disposal of manufactured products," adding, "We will continue to strive to deliver sustainable life values to our customers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.