Good news for recycling of old TVs and computers

by Anne Wharton

The National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme began in South Australia on Monday with the start of free recycling services in Adelaide.  The new service was launched at the Beverley Waste and Recycling Centre by the Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water.  The service enables South Australian householders and small businesses to drop off unwanted TVs and computer products for recycling free of charge.  This is part of the Government’s new Product Legislation Stewardship legislation.

From Monday, DHL Supply Chain will operate a free, ongoing recycling service at the Beverley Centre for televisions, computers, and computer products such as printers, keyboards, mice and hard drives. Other electronic waste, such as mobile phones, is already covered by schemes like the voluntary recycling scheme MobileMuster.

But don’t be too hasty – the Beverley Waste and Recycling Centre is likely to be very busy in the first few weeks! Residents are encouraged to hold on to their items for a while longer to avoid long queues, especially on weekends. The free recycling service is a permanent arrangement so there is no need to rush. The centre is open Mon to Sat 8am-4pm, Sun 10am-4pm. Address: 2-6 Toogood Ave Beverley.

This is the first of several services that will be set up in Adelaide and across the State over the next 18 months, so you can hold on to your old televisions and computer products until a service is available nearby.

Services under the new scheme will be progressively rolled out across Australia, hopefully boosting television and computer recycling rates to 30 per cent in 2012-13 and 80 per cent by 2021-22.  Lets hope this is the beginning of a long-term solution to television and computer waste.

I would urge people to still think carefully before they replace their TVs and computers!  It is important that we are mindful of the long-term impact of our over-consumption on our fragile planet.

David Wright [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]