E-waste
As Australians increase their reliance on technology, disposing of unwanted electronic and electrical products (e-waste) in an environmentally responsible way is becoming an increasingly important issue.
E-waste comprises waste electrical or electronic equipment. Televisions, computers and their peripherals (eg mice, keyboards), whitegoods and fluorescent lighting are all forms of e-waste. Other types of e-waste include:
| Large household appliances Eg electric radiators, air conditioners, electric fans |
| Small household appliances Eg vacuum cleaners, carpet sweepers, irons, electric knives, electric shavers |
| IT and telecommunications equipment Eg mainframes, copying equipment, telephones |
| Consumer equipment Eg radios, video cameras, DVD/VCR/CD players and recorders, speakers |
| Electrical and electronic tools Eg sewing machines, drills, saws, welding tools, electric mowers and tools for other gardening activities |
| Toys, leisure and sports equipment Eg electric trains or car racing sets, hand held video game consoles, sports equipment with electric or electronic components |
| Automatic dispensers Eg automatic dispensers for drinks or food |
E-waste can contain hazardous materials including heavy metals and glass which if broken or damaged pose an unacceptable environmental hazard. Also, around 90% of what is used to make televisions and computers can be recycled, saving valuable, finite resources. Other e-waste can also be readily recycled.
Whitegoods have been banned from direct landfill disposal since 1 September 2011 and computers, televisions and fluorescent lighting from metropolitan Adelaide have been banned from being disposed of directly to landfill since 1 September 2012.
As of September 2013, those wastes and other e-waste are banned from direct landfill disposal across all of South Australia under the Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy 2010 (W2R EPP).
For information on where and how to recycle your e-waste, householders can visit Which Bin and businesses can visit Business Recycling.