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E3Sixty is hoping new urban mining technology will change the way Australia and the world looks at e-waste. Read more
RecycleSmart puts the ‘mobile’ in mobile phone recycling
It is estimated that there are as many as 23.5 million unused mobile phones in Australia, with most households holding onto at least two. This month, RecycleSmart and MobileMuster have teamed up to encourage Sydneysiders to reuse or recycle any old tech they have lying around collecting dust. Read more
E-waste research to inform industry
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TechCollect gathers momentum
The Australia and New Zealand Recycling Platform reveals its goals and plans to improve e-waste recycling following six years of operation. Read more
Bucking the trend: CMA Ecocycle
CMA Ecocycle has spent the past 18 months planning a first-of-its-kind battery recycling plant set to become a critical part of Victoria’s e-waste recycling infrastructure network.
MRI E-cycle Solutions calls for product stewardship expansion
Australian-owned e-waste recycling company MRI E-cycle Solutions has called for all types of e-waste with a plug or a battery to be included under the Product Stewardship Act.
The news follows the meeting of Environment Ministers commitment to fast track the development of new product stewardship schemes for solar panels and batteries. The federal government is also reviewing the Product Stewardship Act 2011, with the findings and recommendations to be provided to Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg by mid-2018.
MRI E-cycle Solutions said in a statement that it was eager to see regulatory reform across all states and territories that facilitates and encourages electronics and battery reuse. It said it hopes to see policies that maximise resource recovery and help local government manage e-waste without being economically penalised.
The company argued that it believes the upcoming Victorian e-waste ban presents an opportunity to synchronise the state ban with an expanded national electronics stewardship scheme. The Victorian Government’s e-waste to landfill ban is expected to commence on 1 July, 2019.
MRI E-cycle Solutions said in its statement that the new start date of 1 July 2019 will better prepare the community and local councils through public education and infrastructure upgrades.
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The statement said that while Australia has made significant steps through the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS) and voluntary programs like MobileMuster, the take-back, and recycling, of many other categories of electrical and electronic goods, have gone unfunded due to a lack of stewardship schemes. It noted that this means that e-waste still continues to flood into landfills at the cost of local government and the community.
“It is essential that the NTCRS be expanded to include the same types of electronic products that will be covered under Victoria’s landfill ban to avoid shifting the cost of their recovery and recycling from producers and retailers to local councils,” the company said.
MRI E-cycle Solutions Managing Director Will LeMessurier said that Victoria’s definition of e-waste was the most appropriate way to better manage the recovery, reuse and recycling of absolute electrical goods. However, he noted that without a national electronics stewardship scheme, local governments would feel the brunt of the cost.
“There are still many categories of e-waste that fall outside the NTCRS, including mobiles, photovoltaic solar panels and batteries that will go straight to landfill in the absence of a comprehensive national electronics stewardship scheme to collect, reuse and recycle anything with a plug or a battery,” he said.
MRI E-cycle Solutions in its statement also argued that a mismatch between Victoria’s comprehensive definition of e-waste and the federal regulations will also create confusion for councils and the public as to what can be recycled.
“Expanding industry funded co-regulated and/or voluntary programs under the Product Stewardship Act to cover all types of e-waste will significantly improve economies of scale for industrial processing and create new employment opportunities.”
“It will also contribute to higher recycling rates nationwide and ensure the cost burden is shared equitably among producers, retailers, consumers and local government. Australia will then truly have a best practice model to the envy of other countries battling the challenge of e-waste.”
Making electronics stewardship circular
John Gertsakis, Director of Communications at Equilibrium, discusses the vital factors required to progress electronics product stewardship outcomes in Australia. Read more
Global E-waste Monitor 2017 shows 20 per cent e-waste recycled
A new report has found Australia, New Zealand and other nations of Oceania are the highest per capita e-waste generators, with only six per cent formally collected and recycled.
The Global E-waste Monitor 2017 was developed collaboratively by United Nations University (UNU) and hosted by UNU’s Vice-Rectorate in Europe, the International Telecommunication Union and the International Solid Waste Association.
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It uses data from 2016 and shows that the world generated 44.7 million metric tonnes of e-waste that year – equal to 4500 Eiffel Towers, with only 20 per cent of this recycled. The report foresees this to increase by 17 per cent to 52.2 million metric tonnes by 2021.
The estimated value of recoverable materials that year was US $55 billion. Meanwhile, about 4 per cent of 2016’s e-waste is being thrown into landfills, with about 76 per cent presumed to be incinerated.
Europe, including Russia, was found to be the second largest e-waste generator per inhabitant with an average of 16.6 kg per inhabitant. Europe still had the highest collection rate at 35 per cent.
The Americas generate 11.6kg per inhabitant and collect 17 per cent, while Asia collects 15 per cent and generates 4.2kg per inhabitant.
Read the full report here.