WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP
Reuse, repair, recycle PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP SUCCESS SHOULDN’T BE MEASURED BY SIMPLY TONNES COLLECTED, BUT ALSO HOW THE LIFECYCLE OF PRODUCTS IS EXTENDED. MOBILEMUSTER’S SPYRO KALOS EXPLAINS.
W
hen the Federal Government released its review of the Product Stewardship Act 2011 in July, Environment Minister Sussan Ley highlighted the contentious issue of free riders. Notably, Ley said companies face being “named and shamed” for not participating in a product stewardship scheme. While free riding is a challenge for many voluntary approaches to product stewardship, MobileMuster
In 2019-20, MobileMuster achieved a recovery rate of 98 per cent.
32 / WMR / November 2020
has proved to be an exception. As the federally accredited product stewardship program for the mobile phone industry, MobileMuster is voluntarily funded by all the major handset manufacturers and network carries in Australia. Currently, 92 per cent of manufactures and 94 per cent of carriers participate in the scheme. According to Spyro Kalos, Head of MobileMuster, the notably high participation rate has been achieved though constant engagement with the
Spyro Kalos says MobileMuster is committed to motivating consumers to extend the life of their devices.
market. “The market is always changing with new brands coming in, so we are constantly working with the industry and reaching out to new entrants,” he says. “When you talk to these brands about the program it makes sense to them, and when we’ve got 92 per cent of the industry participating, that’s a real differentiator.” Under the Product Stewardship Act 2011, accredited voluntary product stewardship arrangements are required to provide audited annual reports for the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. And in late October, MobileMuster released its 2020 report. The annual report highlights the program’s positive performance against key indicators for the year, while also detailing the broader work MobileMuster undertakes to get more people making sustainable choices and recycling their unwanted mobile phones and accessories. “The real stand out for us is that we collected 84.7 tonnes of mobile phone components in the 2019-20 financial year,” Kalos says. “We also continue to have a high recovery rate – 98 per cent – which is something we’re very proud of and
