Electronics recycling flags in Australia

According to Phys.org, Australia is falling behind other countries in recycling electronics.

Graciela Metternicht and Ashleigh Morris of the University of New South Wales School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Environmental Studies, conducted the study. According to the report, electronic scrap enters Australia’s waste stream faster than the country can recycle it. Less than 1% of TVs and only 10% of computers are recycled in the country, the article says.

“Lots of e-waste contains valuable (and finite) metals, such as gold, indium and palladium, as well as hazardous ones, like lead, arsenic and mercury,” Metternicht says in the article. “Sending it to landfill is not just a threat to the environment, it’s also a significant waste of valuable resources.” 

The research identifies the need for Australia to expand its national waste policy to include more electronics recycling, for better compliance and auditing, and for key players, such as local governments, to have greater control over e-scrap. 

“That would be a good start,” Metternicht says in the article. “Of course, to get right to the heart of the issue, Australia ultimately needs to move away from the linear ‘take, make, dispose’ economic model and embrace the circular economy.”