A non-profit electronic waste recycler has revealed that Australians need to improve their recycling of e-waste.
A new article by SBS reveals that e-waste recycling in the country is not at the levels it should be, as “Australian households and businesses are not recycling their old computers, tablets, televisions and printers because they fear losing data or they think it will cost too much.”
TechCollect, a national non-profit electronic waste recycler has said that the improper disposal of e-waste is “to the environment’s detriment” and the recycler’s Chief Executive, Carmel Dollision, commented that while Australians have achieved good standards of recycling when it comes to paper, cardboard and old printing cartridges, their e-waste recycling practices leave room for improvement.
“We all have a shared responsibility for the products we consume,” she revealed to AAP. “You wouldn’t finish with your car and leave it on the street.”
TechCollect conducted a recent survey of 1,000 respondents spread across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and their results revealed that 43% are holding on to their old devices, with one in five admitting “to being device hoarders”. A mere 33% took their e-waste “to a designated drop-off site” and a quarter threw their e-waste in the bin, which meant it would most likely “end up as landfill.”
This can cause serious environmental damage, with mercury and other heavy metals from e-waste potentially contaminating ground water.
The survey’s respondents “cited the loss of personal data, lack of knowledge, data security and cost as key barriers to recycling.”
Ms Dollison revealed that the majority of e-waste is composed of old computers disposed of by businesses, with many small to medium-sized enterprises being haphazard recyclers.
According to the article, “SMEs may have between 20 and 50 computers and have no idea what to do with them when no longer needed”. Many of these businesses “don’t know that the e-waste can be recycled, are worried that it will cost too much, and that data security may be compromised.”
“Those things are the challenges that we need to overcome, and educate the businesses that these products are eminently recyclable,” explained Ms Dollison.
She said that “100, 000 tonnes of new electronic devices are imported into Australia each year”. The government’s recycling target for televisions and old computers in 2016/7 was 58% of imported tonnage, and the goal for 2017/8 is to recycle 62%.
Ms Dollison explains that “TechCollect is funded by manufacturers of electronic goods and its recycling service is free.”