First announced in 2015, Victoria’s ban on disposal of e-waste to landfill recently moved a step closer.
After extensive consultation with the community, councils and the recycling industry, the state government announced that the e-waste ban will commence on 1 July 2019.
The ban involves both regulatory measures (e.g. rules that ban the disposal of e-waste in landfill and specify how it is to be handled) and non-regulatory measures, such as upgrades to the e-waste collection network and an education and awareness campaign.
Key concerns raised during the consultation included:
- The need to have the collection and storage infrastructure in place before the ban commences
- The need for an education and awareness campaign to commence well ahead of the ban coming into force
- The additional costs faced by councils for the transport and reprocessing of e-waste, the clean-up of illegal dumping, upgrades to collection infrastructure and community education.
The choice of a July 2019 start date addresses many of the concerns by allowing time to understand the rules, upgrade infrastructure and roll out an education and awareness campaign.
The next milestone is July 2018, when the new rules will be made public, construction of facilities will commence and the public will be able to learn more about what to do with their e-waste.
This includes information on reuse and repair of electrical and electronic items, as well as recycling.
The government has promised that all Victorians will have “reasonable access” to a safe collection site wherever they are in Victoria.
Ecocycle welcomes the announcement of the commencement date.
“This is a really positive move,” said Business Development Manager Daryl Moyle.
“We have processing capacity in place and are ready for the expected increase in the amount of e-waste to be recycled.”
Mr Moyle believes that with the right educational support, the community will get on board with this.
“Previously, there haven’t been enough of the right avenues to recycle e-waste properly,” he said.
“That’s set to change in a way that will have a positive impact on the environment and the community. As a bonus, the infrastructure being rolled out for e-waste could easily be extended to allow recycling other types of waste.”
Choose the e-waste recycling experts
While the implementation of this ban should see a huge improvement in the e-waste recycling rate in Victoria it’s important to recognise that an established e-waste recycling industry already exists.
Ecocycle has long provided organisations that generate commercial quantities of e-waste with convenient collection and recycling solutions for a variety of e-waste types.
To find out more, give us a call on 1300 32 62 92, or fill out the form below.
Households and small businesses can find e-waste collection points at recyclingnearyou.com.au.
Remember to check back regularly as options for e-waste recycling are set to change.
