The future is recycled
The truth about where your electronics have been and where they are yet to go.
The environmental topic of the year is plastic, but e-waste is a significant player in environmental pollution, too. How many mobile phones have you had in your lifetime and where are they now?
A study that came out of Massey University by Vicktoria Blake, a master of environmental management, revealed that New Zealand produces around 98,000 tonnes of e-waste a year, but it’s only being managed through voluntary schemes. The majority of it is living the rest of its life in a landfill near you.
Household items such as whiteware and other large electronics can be picked up from your curbside in most areas. This annual inorganic collection service is offered by a large number of local councils nationwide. These items can also be dropped off at transfer stations.
Zero Waste Network trustee Karen Driver says the responsibility lies with the manufacturers.
“All around the world we are mining for new materials for new electronics, but when we are done with these products we are throwing them in a hole,” says Driver. Zero Waste Network is working closely with the Ministry for the Environment regarding a product stewardship scheme in New Zealand. The network’s ultimate goal would be a stewardship scheme funded by producers rather than ratepayers.
Mobile phone recycling has become more accessible with charity Sustainable Coastlines partnering with RE:mobile. The RE:mobile scheme is run alongside leading phone companies, Spark, 2degrees and Vodafone. Pre-paid paper post bags are available for customers to recycle their old phones and there are also in-store drop-offs.
If you are a part of an office overhaul, or simply an IT refresh, there is a service called asset recovery that will help ensure your e-waste is taken care of. Data protection is of high importance and companies such as Computer Recycling (Auckland) and Remarkit (Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland) can handle that. Asset recovery allows businesses to dispose of their unwanted electronics in exchange for money and these companies guarantee safe destruction of all data, while continuing to recycle or repurpose the items.
High demand, high waste
E-waste rapidly increased when manufacturers began to shorten their products’ life cycles. The first few generations of computers and cell phones were longer term investments. Now there are new models and greater variants released annually, and our environment is paying the price.
Hazardous chemicals, such as mercury, are found in a lot of old technology, and is toxic to both our natural environment and animals (like humans) who are coming into contact with it.
There are also some high-quality metals and plastics in some e-waste such as gold, silver and copper. If these materials were to be recycled and reused for new electronics, there would be a reduced rate of mining for them.
Governments and manufacturing companies worldwide take a large amount of the responsibility for e-waste that is damaging, but consumers are also to be held accountable. Often we upgrade for the social recognitions rather than because our current electronics aren’t meeting our standards or demand.
Global statistics are showing the increase of e-waste and just how device-based our lives are. Often consumers are unaware of the implications e-waste has on the environment, meaning this isn’t considered in the decision to upgrade.
The future of e-waste has a hopeful outlook with more research being completed and governments are taking notice. The Waikato District Council discussed their future plan for e-waste in June 2018 and there was a 91 per cent support rate for advocacy surrounding product stewardship schemes and regulations, as well as support for supporting organisations.
The United Nations (UN) has created a set of goals they hope to have achieved by 2030. The goals directly related to e-waste include clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, and life below water. To reach these goals, global change is needed in order to reshape the way we use our resources and dispose of them.
Locally, Remarkit has been at the forefront of the e-waste recycling industry for many years and a pioneer in finding innovative solutions to this growing problem. One example is its partnership with Mint Innovation, which is developing processes that would see valuable metal recovered from up to 200 tonnes of scrap printed circuit boards annually. Remarkit also successfully processed 85,000 televisions as part of the Ministry for the Environment national TV Take-back scheme.
Aside from the big organisations, individuals can do a lot to help out with the e-waste issue. Use your devices until they really are needing to be replaced. When upgrading make sure to support organisations who assist with recycling and dispose of your e-waste as safely as possible.