The Great E-Waste Challenge

So you just bought a brand-spanking-new laptop and you love it – but what happens to the old one? Maybe it sits in the back of the cupboard for a few years, maybe you pass it on to someone else, or maybe it goes straight in the bin. At the rate the West consumes new technology, e-waste is becoming our fastest growing waste issue. The majority of Australia’s annual 106,000 tonnes of e-waste ends up in landfill (and not necessarily even in the country where you bin it), but most can be recycled – a message TechCollect is hoping to drive home over the next week as they lead the nation in a world record attempt for the most e-waste collected for recycling.

Between now and April 28th, you can drop off your old computers, printers and TVs to free TechCollect collection points to have them dealt with responsibly. “90% of all computers and TVs can be recycled and made into new products but unfortunately only 10-17% of Australia’s e-waste has been recycled,” TechCollect CEO Carmel Dollisson emphasises. So dig deep this week (that is, deep into the back of cupboards and garages) and make your contribution to the collection. Recycling your waste is also an official Earth Day action, so the timing really couldn’t be better!