A Long-term Solution For E-waste

A Long-Term Solution for E-Waste

Media Release

Friday 28 August 2009

The City of Sydney is taking action to reduce waste from electronic equipment going to landfill, with regular e-waste drop off days for residents, but we recognise that e-waste represents a huge challenge.

With recent research showing that more than 95% of people believe consumers should not be solely responsible for disposing of e-waste, the time has come to find a viable and appropriate solution to this growing problem.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said: "I have urged the State Government to use its power to introduce a mandatory product stewardship program to improve poor recycling rates of electronic waste.

"We need a single scheme that covers all brands with strong recycling targets by early next year and I welcome the agreement between State and Federal Environment Ministers to investigate regulatory options."

E-waste as it is commonly known has quickly become one of the fastest growing types of waste; with rapid obsolescence of many electronic products such as computers and televisions, and the short life-cycles of items like printer cartridges.

Simply sending e-waste to landfill is unacceptable given that it can contain many hazardous materials such as lead and mercury that can leach into waterways. It is also a valuable resource with more than 95 per cent of e-waste capable of being recovered and reused to make new materials and products.

Australians already generate 140,000 tonnes of e-waste each year and this figure is growing at three times the rate of ordinary household waste. The vast majority of ewaste is not recycled and ends up in landfill.

The City of Sydney has taken a leading role in recycling old electronics through regular quarterly E-waste recycling collections. The expense involved in this type of collection puts it beyond the means of many local councils, and we need an enforceable national approach.

The City strongly supports a move towards Extended Producer Responsibility legislation, where producers are made responsible for recycling the products they make when they come to the end of their useful life.

The City is supporting a national scheme proposed by the Total Environment Centre for the management of electronic waste that will make producers responsible for recycling their products.

The City will work alongside TEC to lobby for this scheme, in order to help the recovery of e-waste in Australia and help protect the environment. To learn more about this campaign visit www.reborn.org.au.

The next City of Sydney free E-Waste collection day is scheduled for Sunday 6 September. For more information visit www.zerowaste.org.au or call City of Sydney on 9265 9333.

Media Contact: Josh MacKenzie on 92659082 or 0402 351 459.


SOURCE: City of Sydney