free e-waste collection across melbourne

The Metropolitan Waste Management Group is organising a Melbourne wide free e-waste collection on the weekend of 14-15 May, 2011.

All items accepted for collection will be dismantled and their components sent for recycling. This is your chance to get rid of computer equipment, home office equipment, mobile phones, electronic games or entertainment equipment including televisions, VCRs, DVD players, cameras, etc.

There is a limit of 20 items per person per day.

Details for the E-Waste collection in Yarra Ranges:
When: Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th May between 9am and 4pm
Where: Council Operation Centre, Nelson Rd, Lilydale

For more info click here.

e-waste recycling gets closer

Good news on e-waste! A national e-waste recycling scheme was given the go ahead at last week's meeting of the Environmental Heritage Protection Council, made up of Environment Ministers from across the country.

This is a very positive step forward in managing e-waste in Australia. Electronic waste is growing at three times the rate of general waste, filling landfill sites across the country, with the added potential of causing contamination at these sites.

A national e-waste recycling system will see the creation of substantial green jobs in the waste management sector and has been conservatively estimated to be worth $50million per year.

Recycling e-waste has many benefits, recycling would remove heavy metals from landfill sites and also enable the recovery of some of the more scarce materials that go into the make up of electronic equipment.

It's great to see the that the EHPC are listening to the community and to industry, both have a high level of support for electronic recycling, now the important thing is to get the best recycling scheme we can for electronic waste.

tv takeback reborn

Environment Victoria and the Total Environment Centre have launched a new website, Reborn, in their campaign for a national e-waste recycling scheme. In April Environment Victoria contacted me to support a TV Take Back (e-waste) recycling scheme. There are many benefits and I was pleased to move a motion for Yarra Ranges to support the campaign (see blog) which was supported unanimously.

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If we are genuine about moving towards a zero waste society we must move quickly to implement a national e-waste recycling scheme. E-waste is growing at three times the rate of general waste even though there is a significant market opportunity for recycling old TVs. A recent study by VECCI conservatively indicated that the e-waste recycling market was worth around $50million per annum.

Recycling old TVs would be of great benefit by removing heavy metals from our landfill sites and recycling would also enable recovery of some of the more scarce materials that go into the make up of televisions.

As part of the campaign, a sticker has been produced so concerned citizens can make their mark by plastering them on e-waste piled up on countless nature strips throughout Melbourne waiting for hard rubbish collection. The sticker is to raise awareness about Reborn and to highlight that e-waste could be recycled. If you'd like some stickers email your address to: oldtv@envict.org.au.
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What else can you do to help? Write to the federal Minister for the Environment, Peter Garrett and the state Minister too, Gavin Jennings to tell them you support a national e-waste recycling sytem and they should too.

Want to know more? click below for more info