As the G7 Summit dawned in June 2021, a giant recreation of Mount Rushmore, dubbed Mount Recyclemore, depicting the 7 leaders of the G7 was unleashed on the world’s media. Made from approximately 12 tonnes of discarded consumer technology, its aim was to raise public awareness of the growing problem of e-waste and put re-commerce expert, musicMagpie, at the heart of media conversation.

Result? 1,500 articles; Google quick answers; 38% of trade-ins on musicMagpie were first time users; campaign recall of 20% amongst all UK adults; Mount Recyclemore secured a residency at The Eden Project where the education will continue.

musicMagpie is a re-commerce company specialising in the refurbishment of consumer tech and is a passionate advocate of the circular economy.

According to the United Nations, over 50 million tonnes of e-waste is generated worldwide each year; set to double by 2050, it’s the fastest growing waste stream in the world.

Unless recycled properly, e-waste is a serious threat to the planet - polluting soil, water and air. The G7 nations alone produce over 15 million tonnes of e-waste annually.

An issue that needs addressing, but is largely misunderstood.

Brief, create our own PR-led creative to:

1. Raise awareness of, and educate people about, the growing and overlooked issue of e-waste

2. Put forward the need for electronics to be recycled, refurbished and resold rather than dumped in landfill as e-waste

3. Position musicMagpie as a champion of consumer tech re-commerce and a leading voice in the battle against e-waste

With the world’s media about to descend on Cornwall for the G7 Summit, the stage was set to make a statement. However, with e-waste not featuring on the official agenda, we needed to create a summit of our own - so we did, quite literally. Enter, Mount Recyclemore.

As with any major political event, we knew news crews and photographers would attend in abundance. We also knew they’d be looking for something visual to represent the summit in one shot that wasn’t another leaders’ handshake. Alongside artist Joe Rush, of the Mutoid Waste Company, we set about erecting a huge sculpture of the heads of the G7 leaders made from 20,000 discarded electronic goods.

Based on Mount Rushmore, 'Mount Recyclemore' was purposely placed on Sandy Acres in Cornwall looking menacingly towards Carbis Bay, where the the real-life President Biden, Prime Minister Johnson, President Macron and other leaders were meeting.

Our Opinium pre-campaign research showed low consumer awareness of e-waste. Four in five Brits didn’t know what e-waste was; nearly half were unaware it impacted climate change; almost half do not recycle or resell their old tech, or donate it to charity; five million adults admit to throwing their old tech in the bin. Similar results were also found in the US.

Based on our findings, we knew education and awareness on the dangers of e-waste wasn’t landing and needed to be brought to the fore in a way that would cut through other climate related conversations. We needed a bold creative to do justice to the size of this global, growing issue.

With the world’s KOLs about to descend on the G7 climate summit, the stage was set. However, with e-waste not featuring on the official agenda, we needed to create a summit of our own. Enter, Mount Recyclemore.

'Mount Recyclemore' was unveiled on the eve of the Summit in time to grab the headlines and become an image synonymous with the G7.

Location/scale were key. Created at scale akin to its inspiration, Mount Rushmore, was purposely situated atop the dunes of Sandy Acres in Cornwall looking menacingly towards Carbis Bay where the real-life leaders were meeting. Visually and situationally, it provided the media and public alike with an arresting backdrop during the Summit to send a statement through their own content creation.

Photography, B-roll and A-roll were captured and distributed to enable message control with the media and to fuel social content for owned and earned channels.

To underline musicMagpie as a consumer champion, we partnered with international waste NGO, WasteAid, donating £1 for each piece of tech customers traded in with musicMagpie during the month of June to create and fund WasteAid’s first ever e-waste education programme.

Mount Recyclemore was lauded by almost every major news outlet in the UK, US and beyond. Coverage has appeared in 74 countries with over 1,500+ articles spanning online, print, TV, radio and podcasts - including BBC News, The Guardian, FT alongside international heavyweights Washington Post, CNN, Japan Today, Forbes and New York Times

TV news crews descended from every G7 country, including BBC, AP, AFP, Reuters, CNN, ABC, Deutsche Welle, Televisa, TV Asahi, CBC and CTV, alongside features on high profile chat shows including Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show and James Corden’s The Late Show

musicMagpie’s CEO and CMO were interviewed/quoted 174 times by the world’s media talking around the issue of e-waste

Mount Recyclemore trended on Twitter alongside #G7Cornwall with tweets from media and KOLs such as Greenpeace and politician Jeremy Corbyn, igniting discussions on the issue of e-waste

Post campaign research (October 2021) found the campaign could be recalled by 20% of all UK adults; almost three-in-ten (28%) Brits knew what e-waste is, compared to one-in-five (21%) in May 2021; six in ten (61%) thought e- waste contributed to climate change compared to just over half (55%) in May.

38% of all trade-ins through musicMagpie in the campaign month were first time users of the company.

£30,000 was generated for Wasteaid to create their first e-waste education programme. A legacy musicMagpie will continue to play a part in.

Mount Recyclemore has been re-erected at the Eden Project where 1 million people will be educated about e-waste in 2022.