If you want to recycle an old mobile phone, it’s pretty straightforward no matter where you live. If you want to dispose of an unwanted PC in a responsible fashion, your options may be more limited, and government pushes to establish better national regulations appear to be stalling.
Picture by Michael Neel
Karen Dearne at Australian IT reports that while a National TV and Computer Product Stewardship Scheme is being developed, environmental and industry organisations are concerned that it won’t be effective because it lacks sufficient scope and impact. In particular, there are concerns that the scheme won’t be mandatory, meaning that cheap importers might simply opt out of taking full responsibility for products they sell in order to cut prices. (In contrast, European regulations mandate that companies which sell consumer electronics must also take them back for recycling.)
While some local councils offer specific collection and disposal programs for computers (and TVs), there’s still a risk those items will simply end up as landfill, rather than having their component parts recycled appropriately. Here’s hoping we eventually end up with a more comprehensive national scheme once the bickering stops.
Participants fear e-waste recycling scheme has lost direction [Australian IT]
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