Recycling has no trick and Luís de Matos explains why

At a time when only 15 to 20% of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is recycled worldwide, ERP Portugal and LG Portugal challenged the magician Luís de Matos to join the movement awareness campaign for recycling “electronic waste”.

The result was the “Recycle has no trick” project, which, through a set of tricks with the unique signature of the Portuguese magician, comes to alert the Portuguese to the urgency and need to give a second life to electrical and electronic equipment that no longer works.

In order to create a chain of awareness and education content for the Portuguese public, this digital campaign combines the surprise of magic tricks designed exclusively for the project with useful information on the national panorama of WEEE recycling, with the Depositrão as its protagonist, the ERP Portugal logistical solution to deliver electrical and electronic equipment that we no longer use or that are damaged but that may have a second life.

“When ERP Portugal and LG Portugal challenged me, I did not hesitate to join this project that alerts the Portuguese to the urgent need to recycle our electronic waste. The truth is that I really like partnerships that allow me to learn and, at the same time, contribute to the change of consciences and behaviors. And this Recycling Has No Trick allowed me to do it through my work, magic, which also gave me enormous joy”, says magician Luís de Matos.

This movement is of particular importance when it is known that if, on the one hand, more than 66% of Portuguese people recycle their electrical and electronic equipment at the end of their lives, the truth is that the national spirit of “can still be useful” takes about 60% of the population saving equipment that they no longer use. This was one of the conclusions of the study “Portuguese Habits in relation to Electronic Waste”, promoted by ERP Portugal and LG Portugal in October 2020, in partnership with Qdata (coordinated by NOVA IMS), and which boosted the creation of an impact and educational campaign among the Portuguese public.

According to Rosa Monforte, ERP Portugal General Manager, “raising awareness and educating the population about environmentally conscious behaviors has been a concern present in the initiatives developed during our activity as a compliance scheme. Citizens participation in the recycling process is essential and we believe that the creativity of Luís de Matos' magic will show that the trick is in the hands of all of us: we can give a second life to our electrical and electronic equipment!”

“As a manufacturer of electronic equipment with a global impact, it is absolutely crucial for LG to contribute to a better world and environment. As a result of a very strong social responsibility policy and a long-standing partnership with ERP Portugal, we believe that public awareness campaigns on the issue of electronic waste are essential so that, as citizens, we can contribute to the creation and maintenance of a sustainable and ecological ecosystem”, says Hugo Jorge, LG Portugal Markting Manager.

The campaign will live, mainly, on the digital platforms and social networks of ERP Portugal, LG Portugal and Luís de Matos during the month of February. The first video is already online and tells the story of how old children's electronic toys that are probably stored in any box in the collection of the home of many Portuguese families can be reborn under a new function, in this case, in the format of hangers.