As New Zealand considers the benefits of product stewardship and its impact on e-waste recycling, ANZRP CEO Warren Overton sets out the critical elements for a successful national e-waste recycling program based on the Australian experience.

Last month we launched our TechCollect pilot e-waste recycling program just across the ditch in New Zealand.

Operating through the OfficeMax retail network, TechCollect provides 16 drop-off points across New Zealand where people can take their unwanted e-waste for recycling completely free of charge.

Already we’ve had an astounding level of interest, with hundreds of visits to our new website and enquiries rolling in by the dozen. This is indicative of the New Zealand public’s appetite for responsible and accessible e-waste recycling, a void that has to this point not been filled. Unlike its Australian and overseas counterparts, the country has struggled to better manage the increasing volume of e-waste generated annually – a recent report from the International Telecommunications Union shows kiwis are among the world’s worst offenders, producing an estimated 20kg per person per year.

Product stewardship is key

Australia’s approach to managing the growing issue of e-waste is founded on the notion of product stewardship. This concept acknowledges that those involved in producing, selling and using products have a shared responsibility to ensure that those products or materials are managed in a way that reduces their impact, throughout their life cycle, on the environment and on human health and safety.

A key pillar of Australia’s National Waste Policy is the Product Stewardship Act 2011. Established under the Act, the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS) was Australia’s first producer responsibility arrangement. Under the scheme, more than 1,800 collection services have been made available to the public and 230,000 tonnes of TV and computer e-waste collected and recycled. 130,000 tonnes of that has been managed by ANZRP’s flagship program TechCollect.

In recent years, the New Zealand Government has twice investigated e-waste product stewardship and on both occasions was unable to establish a long-term industry funded program.

Technology industry ready to participate

Despite New Zealand’s lack of regulatory enforcement, major players in the electronics industry have just committed to funding our TechCollect pilot e-waste recycling program. Microsoft, Toshiba, HP, Epson, Dell and Canon have all pledged funds to the pilot, which has been a major driver in getting the program off the ground.

The quick commitment from these world-leading organisations shows their eagerness to uphold their corporate social responsibility status, and position themselves as leaders on this issue. They understand the importance of environmental and social sustainability to their brand and are ready with their cheque book to support initiatives that shine a light on their commitment.

Key elements of a successful e-waste recycling program

Fundamental to a thriving e-waste recycling program is a model where industry covers costs of collection and recycling. The ideal approach is through a liability-based fee in a competitive environment that encourages cost competition.

Other critical factors include:

Government funding — Sufficient government funding for e-waste product stewardship is required to ensure effective program management, audit and enforcement of requirements, and promotion of the program to the whole community. Underfunding allows liable parties to avoid compliance and diminishes community engagement with the program.

Competition — Competition is good for logistics and recycling yet is counterproductive for collection as it can create duplication and inefficiencies. Due to the small size of the New Zealand market, the number of organisations engaged to deliver an e-waste product stewardship program should be limited to reduce administrative costs.

Scope — To gain the benefits of scale, for both logistics and processing, as wide a scope as possible is recommended for an e-waste product stewardship program. Under Australia’s NTCRS, only televisions, computers, printers and computer peripherals are accepted. Even though this created a pool of easily identifiable parties, making it easier to manage, inclusion of all waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) would increase the amount of liable parties and exponentially increase the volume targets, guaranteeing greater economies of scale.

Collection network — Vital to its success, a collection network must include a broad spectrum of partners, including local councils, retail providers (such as electrical goods retailers) and private recycling owner-operated sites and community facilities. Aside from maintaining the reach of the service, they also serve an important role helping educate the public through their regular interactions.

Education — It’s important for people to understand the process of recycling e-waste and where they can responsibly dispose of it, knowing that it will be managed to the highest standards in accordance with the regulatory and legislative requirements. To achieve this, a simple and consistent approach is necessary — only government can fill this requirement. After seven years, the Australian public still does not have a strong understanding of e-waste and what can be done. Government needs to take the lead and project clear and consistent messaging.

Recycling partners – Competition is good and should not be limited to a few. Strict standards need to be enforced, ensuring downstream vendor due diligence and material traceability is achieved. All recyclers who serve the program are required to meet certain standards such as compliance to AS/NZS 5377:2013 and HSE legislation, and are regularly audited to ensure reporting volumes are correct.

Now entering its seventh year and despite some issues that need to be ironed out, Australia’s NTCRS has been acknowledged as a resounding success. Product stewardship underpinned by accessibility, collaboration, transparency and trust — these are the critical elements that form a successful e-waste recycling program.

ANZRP would welcome the New Zealand Government’s participation into our pilot program, and the prospect of matching program funding to help lengthen and facilitate its ongoing success.

To find out more about our TechCollect pilot in New Zealand go to www.techcollect.nz.