e-waste in Australia can be defined as waste electrical and electronics equipment including:
- Consumer/entertainment electronics (e.g. televisions, DVD players and tuners).
- Devices of office, information and communications technology (e.g. computers, telephones and mobile phones)
- Household appliances (e.g. fridges, washing machines and microwaves).
- Lighting devices (e.g. desk lamps).
- Power tools (e.g. power drills) with the exclusion of stationary industrial devices.
- Devices used for sport and leisure including toys (e.g. fitness machines and remote control cars).
Throughout Australia it may still not commonly be known that through the right schemes e-waste is actually recyclable. Many people are still sending their old electronic waste to landfill, and when we seem to be filling our houses more and more with TV’s, laptops, tablets, computers etc – this is certainly a growing concern.
The presence of e-waste in landfill not only takes up valuable space but some of these items can be highly toxic and damaging to the environment.
So what can we do?
e-waste recycling at home
The Australian Government started a National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme in 2011. This programme works by offering drop off points where households can at no charge bring in their old televisions, computers, printers and computer products which will then be sent off to be recycled. Over the years this programme has grown and the number of drop off points has increased remarkably, when I typed in my postcode (SE Melbourne) it came up with 94 drop off points within 60km of where I live. I personally think this is a fantastic scheme and we need to spread the word so people are aware of this.
For further information or to find an e-waste drop off point near you click here.
For old mobile phones there is a similar programme in place called Mobile Muster. For further details click here
e-waste recycling at work
If you have regular or bulk electronic waste that you would like to dispose of in a responsible way contact KS Environmental. We can offer you either a 660 litre bin or if you require something larger, a lockable container. Once the containers are full let us know and we will arrange collection. KS Environmental guarantees that all e-waste collected is transported to a reputable recycler where it is sorted and broken down into its major components before the recycling process begins.
For further information on electronic waste or to book in a collection for your e-waste recycling please contact us.
Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics