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MobileMuster has won the 2026 SBS Media Sustainability Challenge, which includes AUD $500,000 in advertising inventory.
The mobile phone recycling programme won with its 'However it dies' campaign, developed by Marketing and Communications Manager Joel Murray with creative agency Enigma. The campaign aims to encourage Australians to recycle old handsets as a routine part of daily life.
Now in its second year, the challenge is designed to push brands and agencies to use creative work to make sustainable behaviour more visible and familiar to consumers. Alongside the advertising inventory, MobileMuster will also receive support from Sustainable Screens Australia to produce the advertising under sustainable production practices.
Kate Young, National Manager of SBS CulturalConnect, said the winning entry addressed a practical environmental issue in a way that could connect with the public.
"The SBS Media Sustainability Challenge was created to encourage our industry to make sustainability more visible, relatable and actionable for Australians. We're very proud to see this work from MobileMuster come to life and drive an important message encouraging Australians to remember to recycle when it comes to technology and mobile phones," Young said.
For MobileMuster, the award offers access to a broader audience at a time when unused mobile devices are still being stored in homes rather than collected for recycling. The campaign is intended to prompt people to take those phones out of drawers and put them into the recycling system.
"Our goal is to make recycling old mobiles one of those simple, everyday actions that Australians don't have to think twice about, and this prize gives us an incredible platform to do just that," said Helen Maisano, Head of Sustainability and Social Impact at MobileMuster.
MobileMuster is managed by the Australian Telecommunication Alliance and funded voluntarily by companies across the telecoms and technology sector, including Optus, TPG Telecom, Apple, Google, Motorola, Samsung, TCL, ZTE and TP Link. The programme describes itself as a not-for-profit product stewardship scheme focused on the safe and ethical recycling of mobile phones and related products.
Campaign focus
The winning campaign was created with younger audiences in mind, according to Murray, who led the brief for MobileMuster. He said the work was built around creating a more distinctive platform for a message that often struggles to break through in crowded media channels.
"Their team took our brief, which centred on creating a distinctive creative platform that would resonate strongly with younger audiences, and brought it to life with insight and creativity. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved together, not only with this asset but across the broader suite of campaign creative developed through our collaboration," Murray said.
Enigma framed the result as recognition for creative work tied to an environmental message. Chief Creative Officer and Partner Lee credited both the client team and SBS for backing the initiative.
"It's always nice to be a winner, but particularly nice when winning benefits the planet. A big THANK YOU to SBS for creating this great annual initiative and a collective BRAVO to our clients Joel and Helen, our wonderful team at Enigma and Paul for creating a truly unignorable piece of work," Lee said.
Recycling challenge
The campaign centres on a persistent waste issue in Australia: old mobile phones that are no longer used but have not entered recycling streams. These devices can contain materials that should not go to landfill, while recovered components can be reused to reduce demand for newly mined resources.
Maisano linked the prize to a broader effort to make sustainable choices easier for consumers to act on, saying public awareness is central to lifting recycling rates.
"SBS shares our belief that positive environmental change happens when we make sustainable choices accessible, relevant and engaging," Maisano said.
She added: "We are excited to receive this prize to bring this campaign to life, and inspire more Australians to get their old phones out of drawers and into recycling. Mobile phone recycling is important, as it keeps potentially hazardous materials from ending up in landfill, and allows organisations to reuse those materials, which reduces the need for further mining."
MobileMuster said its programme has kept thousands of tonnes of mobile phone products out of landfill over 28 years. It is accredited by the federal government and operates as an industry-backed recycling scheme for handsets and accessories.
During September, each phone donated to the scheme will trigger a AUD $1 contribution towards zoo conservation work in partnership with Zoos Victoria, Zoos SA, Sydney Zoo and Taronga Zoo.