FEATURED TOPIC – E-WASTE
A national approach MARKET RESEARCH FOR PRODUCT STEWARD AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND RECYCLING PLATFORM HAS PROVIDED AN INSIGHT INTO THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF AUSTRALIANS REGARDING E-WASTE.
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ustralia needs to take the next step in e-waste recycling, says Warren Overton, Chief Executive Officer Australia New Zealand Recycling Platform (ANZRP). ANZRP has been advocating for an expansion of the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS) to include waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) for several years. Warren says they’re not alone. Recent research commissioned by ANZRP shows 76 per cent of Australians believe e-waste going to landfill is an important issue, yet 14 per cent of unused computers and nine per cent of computer monitors and televisions are ending up in general waste. Warren says this can be attributed to confusion about what collection programs are free and what products can be collected. He believes a single system approach will deliver better e-waste recycling outcomes. “There’s a lot of will and people want to do the right thing, but different brands are doing different things which creates confusion,” Warren says. “There needs to be national consistency around this and a mandate that electronic waste should be recycled, and it should go through these channels.” Warren says the Product Stewardship Act, which ANZRP is approved under, was recently reviewed by the Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment. The
Australian Government has agreed to action all 26 recommendations from the review, including to assess the feasibility of expanding the NTCRS to include WEEE products. He says there is “very sound logic” to support the expansion. “There’s a lot of environmental benefits. Not only are you avoiding materials going to landfill, but you also avoid the energy of mining new resources and potentially toxic materials going into landfill. “Economically, there’s hundreds of millions of dollars of material being put into landfill that could be reused. There’s also job creation. “Australia is a big place. We collect 20,000 tonne a year of material. That’s a lot of material to move but it’s not economical to move around states and not enough is being collected to invest in facilities to drive better outcomes. If the NTCRS is expanded, it will increase material collection and the recycling
Warren Overton, CEO, Australia New Zealand Recycling Platform (ANZRP).
industry has incentive to invest in infrastructure.” Warren says the research shows that seven per cent of the public are aware of the NTCRS, however once explained, support for the service it provides is 85 per cent. He says consumer reasons for supporting the scheme focus on reducing waste, creating jobs and
Awareness and support for the NTCRS www.wastemanagementreview.com.au / WMR / 29
