Since the Tech boom, we have been producing electronic goods at an alarming rate. New technology supersedes older technology every 6 months to a year and our search for the latest and greatest gadgets and machines means that we dispose of these items within 1-3 years after we purchase them.
To prevent it ending up in landfill, the Federal Government introduced the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS) in 2011.
Under the industry-funded scheme, companies that import or manufacture more than 5,000 televisions, computers or printers per year are required to help recover end-of-life products and divert them from landfill.
They do this by being members of one of four authorised recyclers which organise collection and recycling of e-waste on their behalf.
Each year 40,000 tonnes of computers, tablets, televisions, printers, scanners, photocopiers, keyboards and mice are recycled through the scheme.
What Gets Recycled?
- Monitors – Are dismantled and the normal glass, leaded glass, plastic, and circuit boards are recycled.
- Computers – Plastic, Circuit boards, batteries are separated and recycled.
- Phones – Plastic, Circuit boards, batteries are separated and recycled. Mobiles phones are recycled under an industry-led voluntary scheme called Mobile Muster which began nearly 20 years ago.
- Printers – Plastic, Circuit boards, batteries are separated and recycled.
So where does it all go?
- The leaded glass is processed at a smelter in Port Pirie to recover the lead.
- Circuit boards go to Japan where precious metals like gold, silver and copper are recovered through a heat and chemical process.
- The batteries will go to a company in Korea where they are further processed to recover, in the case of lithium ion batteries, lithium and cobalt. In the case of nickel-cadmium batteries, they recover cadmium.
- Steel, copper and aluminium are also recycled in Australia while some plastics are sent to China for processing.
- All up around 95% of the material is recycled. But only if disposed of correctly.
What about Security?
- The recycling of these materials essentially involves breaking down the components so that they no longer contain data.
- Some businesses remove the hard-drives or wipe them prior to recycling.
- It is possible to engage companies to shred or destroy the data storing components of devices offsite however the most practical approach is to do it yourself or employ a company like City Rubbish to do it onsite.
In conclusion, E- Waste is expanding due to the redefined lifecycle of products. E-waste is free to dispose for most households through your local council exchange program however all commercial quantities of E-waste are not free, largely due to the time and cost of labour and access. Also if you are concerned about security, you should be weary of handing your IT items over for free as they may be intended for reuse rather than recycling.
City Rubbish recycles E-waste and it doesn’t cost any more than a standard load of rubbish.
To book a quote or a pickup click HERE
