The country’s lack of regulations for processing e-waste have been criticised in a new report.
A new United Nations report has revealed that New Zealand is one of the world’s biggest generators of e-waste – and is also the only OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) country that has no national regulations for dealing with it, according to one news.
The findings of the report come despite the annual eDay initiative, which aims to raise awareness of the problems posed by e-waste on health and the environment, and to provide the opportunity to dispose of it properly. eDay estimates that per year, every Kiwi generates approximately twenty kilograms of e-waste.
Laurence Zwimpfer, Chair of the eDay New Zealand Trust, described the report as “a reality check about how little progress we have actually made” and called its outcome “embarrassing”, particularly given the clean and green image the country has internationally.
“Being given a score of 0 per cent in the UN report is a bit unfair,” he continued, “as there are some New Zealand recyclers who are doing a fantastic job diverting e-waste from landfills. But these are typically charities or recyclers with a social conscience. What we need is a permanent and sustainable solution, and this now needs some urgent action by Government.”