Media Release
8 February 2010
Urgent national action needed on TV waste
The Federal Government must move immediately to introduce its national plan to deal with
electronic waste or risk the rapidly growing problem of outdated televisions being dumped in landfill,
rather than being recycled, getting out of control, Clean Up Australia said today. ?
At a meeting of State and Federal Environment Ministers in November 2009, the government
announced a national plan to tackle electronic waste to be introduced sometime in 2011, however
Clean Up Australia Chairman Ian Kiernan AO said an immediate introduction is critical.
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Federal Government statistics show that just 10 per cent of disused televisions are recycled.
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Kiernan claims the government cannot afford to wait any longer before introducing the national
scheme, which will see the makers of electronic waste made responsible for taking their products
back at the end of their lifecycle.
“Electronic waste is growing at more than three times the rate of any other waste stream. It’s critical
we do something to address the situation immediately,” Mr Kiernan said. ?
“E-waste contains a multitude of harmful substances, like mercury and arsenic, that leach from
decomposing waste into our environment. Those poisonous substances can then seep into
groundwater, contaminate soil and even enter the foodchain.
“It’s a serious issue that requires urgent action.
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“For years governments stalled on making a decision on e-waste, now we’ve finally got a
commitment to change, but what we really need is to see is an action plan with committed timelines.
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“People are upgrading their television sets at a rapid rate, and with the new digital service about to
come into place, we’re going to see thousands of tvs being dumped as households upgrade.
“You just have to roam the streets during a council clean up to see how many TVs are being
discarded.
“Reducing the amount of electronic waste, including television sets, going to landfill through better
environmental management is possible today – so let’s simply make it happen.
Want to do your bit for the environment – it all starts with Just 1 – and that Just 1 person can be you.
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Media Enquiries: Alana Mew, 0423 377 567
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