Technology is advancing fast and as yesterday’s electronic items become obsolete, our streets are strewn with unwanted television sets, old computers, and other eWaste. Annabel Crabb wrote in The Age on 25 March, 2012, that over 2.5 million TV sets will be replaced this year; and of these an estimated 500,000 will be recycled; the rest will be either stored or sent to landfill.
Fortunately, steps are being taken to improve the recycling rate. The National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (http://www.environment.gov.au/ewaste) is being set up as part of the Product Stewardship Act 2011 to improve recycling rates and reduce the amount of eWaste going to landfill.
Product Stewardship is an approach that recognises that participants in various stages of a product’s life share responsibility for the environmental impact of that product. Funded and run by the industry (probably through a small surcharge on the retail price of the product) the Scheme will allow consumers to deliver televisions, computers and printers to a drop-off point, local participating retailer, take-back event or via mail-back. Approved recyclers will then process the material, recycling as much as possible and ensuring non-recyclable material is safely and responsibly disposed of. Services will commence in mid-2012, expanding across Australia by the end of 2013
The Government has published a set of regulations for the scheme including the reporting requirements.The waste management package, enwis) can capture all the information necessary to track the waste material and produce the required reports. enwis) is a software package specifically built for companies that provide Waste Management and Recycling services.
For further details regarding enwis) please contact Andrew Ferguson.
