Vanuatu will now send used cartridges, phones and chargers to New Zealand for recycling in the Pacific state’s first such recycling scheme.
Radio New Zealand reported on the deal between the Pacific island nation and New Zealand-based company Croxley Recycling, which will see Vanuatu supermarket chain LCM stores cartridges and phones deposited in collection boxes in the town of Luganville.
These boxes will then be shipped to Auckland, New Zealand, where the recycling company will recycle all the used cartridges and phones – with the entire operation taking place at no cost to Vanuatu. A shipment is set to be sent from the island to New Zealand once a year.
Mary O’Reilly, a waste management specialist, stated to the site that before such items were “thrown into […] landfill and don’t break down”, and that with the expansion of business in the town, the “need to recycle office products” has grown.
“The printer toner cartridge, while it’s a very small waste stream, the business sector in Luganville is growing, so it’s quite a good waste stream to start working on. We’ve also introduced a cardboard recycling programme for the businesses. And even just doing that, which now is second nature for businesses and households in New Zealand, that’s just such a new concept for them.”