E-waste or electronic waste is the term given to a broad range of electronics that have reached their end-of-life, or the point where they need to be discarded or replaced.
The materials contained within electronic waste, many of them produced from non-renewable resources, make e-waste both an environmental hazard and a potentially valuable resource, depending on how it is handled. When dumped in landfill, illegally exported or otherwise handled incorrectly, many of these materials become unstable and readily contaminate soil and groundwater. However, when handled correctly, at least 90% to 95% of these materials can be recycled, which greatly reduces the environmental impact of landfill dumping, sourcing new materials, pollution and contamination.
Some of the benefits of recycling electronic waste in Australia include:
Removing toxic materials from landfill and groundwater
Preserving landfill space
Better control of final disposal – ie transparency on where it all ends up
Minimising illegal export of hazardous e-waste materials to developing countries
Conserving non renewable resources
Reducing the environmental impact including CO2 emissions of sourcing and processing new materials
Creating new jobs in the electronic waste recycling and green technology sector
Supporting and encouraging electronic waste recycling in Australia
satisfying shareholders' and investors' increasing requirements for their companies to 'do the right thing' environmentally
Although so-called e-waste recycling has existed in Australia for many years, large volumes of electronic waste continue to be dumped in landfill sites or exported overseas. Australian recycling levels compare extremely poorly with European and other OECD countries. Currently, Australia recycles under 10% of all end-of-life computers and less than 1% of TVs. The reason for this is perhaps partly due to the perception of landfill dumping as a ‘cheap and nasty’ solution for waste, but it also reflects the fact that, until recently, Australia has lacked national waste legislation with sufficient incentives to redirect e-waste from landfill and into recycling.