Green-technology company Sircel is helping councils find circular solutions for e-waste.
Australians produced an average of 20 kilograms of e-waste each in 2019, almost three times the global average, according to the Australian Local Government Association.
Only about a third of the total of e-waste materials generated are recovered, meaning about $430 million of materials are sent to landfill each and every year. And it’s getting worse not better.
That’s despite – when handled correctly – 90 per cent to 95 per cent of e-waste components can be recycled. Precious resources including glass, steel, aluminium and copper can be recovered and recycled into new products.
As Australia transitions to a circular economy and aims for 80 per cent resource recovery for all waste streams by 2030, there’s growing recognition of the importance of e-waste recycling.
But capturing the value of e-waste will require a huge mind shift, says Anthony Karam, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of green-technology company Sircel.
“We need to be shifting from waste management to resource recovery,” Anthony says.
“When you work with recyclers as opposed to waste managers the end result is a better outcome for the economy and more regenerated resources.
“All the material in e-waste has already been sourced and refined. When you’re accessing that material to recycle it’s at a refined specification and higher value if you can put it back into the circular economy.”
Local government is often at the forefront of managing the ballooning e-waste problem with expectations for managing household and commercial waste within their municipalities.
Complex operating environments, competing demands of limited budgets, and procurement pressures often drive councils to the lowest cost solutions as opposed to those with impact and outcome.
Anthony says councils should be incentivised to partner with companies offering “best-in-class” solutions that deliver a better service, reduce pressure on landfill, drive circular economy outcomes, and achieve a higher environmental outcome.
“The success metric for recycling e-waste needs to be much broader than lower cost,” he says.
“Rather than traditional cost-based tenders, councils should be seeking the most strategic partner who can drive long-term benefit for the community.”
Sircel is leading the way with world-class resource recovery and landfill diversion rates. It has developed a world-first, proprietary process that diverts up to 100 per cent of e-waste from landfill, redirecting the valuable commodities back into the circular economy.
It works with councils, schools and community organisations to provide drop-off events to dispose of and recycle their e-waste in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Since 2021, Sircel has run more than 45 events for 20 councils in Victoria and New South Wales, helping thousands of households dispose of their e-waste ethically, easily and safely.
Events are based on council’s insights and their residents’ needs and are wholly managed by Sircel’s in-house events management team and trained staff.
Since it began working with councils, Sircel has received and processed 979 tonnes of e-waste from households around Australia, including 472 tonnes of TVs/flat screens, 197 tonnes of printers, 280 tonnes of computers and laptops and 30 tonnes of white goods.
Sircel also consults with councils on effective, end-to-end e-waste management and recycling and provides safe, secure collection and transport of e-waste from resource recovery centres.
Comprehensive and credible reporting on environmental, social and governance goals gives councils clear understanding of the mass of e-waste diverted from landfill across three categories – National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS) materials, non-NTCRS materials and incidentals such batteries and flouros.
But not all e-waste providers are equal. Anthony says councils, at the very least, should satisfy themselves with a visit to a preferred recycler.
He says, when assessing the suitability of an e-waste partner, councils should:
- Assess their accreditations; talk to their clients and partners. Sircel’s Villawood site is now R2 certified; and operates under Environment Protection Authority licencing.
- Ask for a site visit. Sircel hosts guided tours for all current and potential clients, including government departments, local councils, waste contractors to show them how large-scale e-waste recycling really works.
- Reporting: how do they track and prove the results they are reporting? Sircel tags and manages each load as it arrives; has customised its reporting process and can offer bespoke reporting.
- Assess their downstreaming and offshore practices. Sircel downstreams batteries, and processes all e-waste in Australia.
- Insufficient state and federal regulations on toxins in electronics and end-of life disposal. This lax regulation allows corporations to produce and dispose of electronics with few restrictions, contributing to environmental harm which councils must deal with.
- How do they process equipment? Is manufacturing done on-site, or is equipment shipped to a different location for processing? If e-waste is processed on site, what methods are used to handle the materials? If equipment is shipped to other processors for handling, where does it go and what happens to it?
“When dealing with councils we’re quite happy to host them and walk them through the process so they can see the plant in operation,” Anthony says.
“When they’re ready to make their decision, they are making an informed decision. They’ve seen the plant; they’ve seen it work and that the outputs are not going to landfill as opposed to signing up to a deal with no real machinery on site, heaps of shipping containers and no idea what’s happening to their waste.
“I know the way we process here, as a recycler, we have the best opportunity to extract value right through the chain.
For more information, visit: www.sircel.com
