Collect e-Waste in Your Area for a Chance at $20,000 in Cash and Prizes!
ERA offers prizes to students who gather old phones, laptops, and more, through community-based initiatives.
Looking for an Earth-friendly way to fund your studies — a way that's a little outside-the-box? The Electronics Recycling Association (ERA) offers a scholarship contest for students! All you need to do is collect e-waste in your area. Here's everything you need to know:
Who's eligible to take part?
This contest is open to any full- or part-time student in Canada — international students included! If you're participating outside ERA's main operating areas, listed below, you'll have some adjusted requirements, but the basic ideas are the same.
ERA's main operating areas:
- Calgary
- Edmonton
- Halifax
- Montréal
- Ottawa
- Saskatoon
- Toronto
- Vancouver
- Winnipeg
E-waste collection
Come up with a marketing plan and start collecting e-waste in your area. You'll be responsible for every detail, from planning to execution! ERA is looking for creative ideas to reach local businesses and community members.
We want to see your creativity, initiative, and ability to mobilize your networks. How will you raise awareness? How will you engage your school, local businesses, and community partners?
Once you've got all the e-waste collected, the ERA team will evaluate each student's performance and choose a scholarship winner!
Remember, the more devices you collect, the better your odds of being selected as the grand prize winner! Think outside the box to collect as many devices as you can. You'll help your neighbours, your environment, and yourself! (Be sure to contact ERA if you're not sure whether an item qualifies for collection.)
How to collect items for the competition
You have three main ways to collect items this year:
1. ERA pickups via the app or website. Individuals and businesses can get free pickup of 20+ approved items using your unique Scholarship ID.
2. Corporate pickups. Secure hard drive destruction is available, no charge, when ERA collects 20+ computing devices from any Canadian company.
3. Community collection events. Organize an event in your community in partnership with ERA. We'd love to come support you!
How ERA supports your collection event
ERA has your back for your collection event! With at least four week's notice, you can contact ERA to help support your planned event. Here are a few ways ERA can help:
- Providing a collection cage and ERA banner
- Pickup of collected electronics at the end of the event
- On-site staff and truck support (especially for weekend events)
You'll also want to create custom signs and marketing materials to promote your event!
What items are accepted by ERA?
You can check out the full list of items here, but the basics are simple. We're looking for things like:
- phones
- servers
- laptops
- networking equipment
- game consoles
- and so on..
Unfortunately, household and personal electronics, including TVs, are not accepted! You can reach out any time for guidance if you're not sure what's acceptable.
How is the winner decided?
The ERA team will assess each participant in a few related areas:
- Quantity and quality of equipment collected
- Amount of exposure your collection event received on- and offline
- Overall organization and effectiveness of your initiative
Be sure to tag ERA on social media using #ERAScholarship so we can check out what you're up to! Keep track of your marketing efforts, and share the details in a post-collection report.
Please be aware that if you enter, ERA will own the rights to all marketing material submitted and can use these marketing materials as they wish. This includes any social media accounts you create for the 2023 ERA scholarship competition! You'll have to turn over the passwords at the end if you've created new accounts for this contest.
When is the deadline to collect items?
You have until November 15, 2026 to collect devices for ERA! Winners will be announced in December, or thereabouts.
Why does ERA run this scholarship competition?
ERA is committed to engaging communities across Canada through education, environmental stewardship, and social impact initiatives. This scholarship competition provides students with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience, build their resumes, and make a meaningful impact in their communities, with a chance to get financial support toward their education.
You'll find more info on the ERA FAQ page, so if you have questions, start there. We can't wait to see what clever, creative ways you can come up with to collect e-waste from your area! Good luck!
Check out ERA's 2026 scholarship contest