The impact of e-waste and how you can help
What is e-waste?
E-waste is short for ‘electronic waste’. The category comprises of anything with a battery or a plug. You know, all the pesky stuff you never know what to do with when it becomes unusable.
Why is e-waste a problem?
First and foremost e-waste is a problem because people don’t know how to dispose of it properly. But beyond this, e-waste contributes to 70% of the chemicals found in landfills. Mercury, lead and cadmium are all toxic chemicals and are typically found wherever there’s e-waste.
As technology evolves and previous items and appliances become obsolete faster and faster, we’re seeing a HUGE increase in e-waste. In fact, electronic waste is increasing three times faster than any other type of rubbish.
According to Clean Up Australia “88% of the 4 million computers and 3 million TV's purchased in Australia every year will end up in landfill - this contributes to the 140,000+ tonnes of electronic waste generated by Australians every year.”
What the average person doesn’t realise is that 98% of the components in your computer or television can be fully recycled, given the right equipment and processing. Unfortunately, fewer than 1% of TVs and around 10% of PCs and laptops are recycled Australia wide. But if just half of the TVs discarded were, 23,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions would be saved annually.
What can you do about your electronic waste?
Reduce
Honestly? One of the best tips to battle e-waste is to stop buying things you don’t need. Also, while we love a bargain, some electronics are just not designed to last. More expensive doesn’t ALWAYS mean better quality, but look for companies who have long warranties on their items. This shows that they’re designed to last as the company is willing to stand by the manufacturing of their product.
Repair
In recent years we really have looked past the benefits of repairing things. While certain products can’t be repaired, most electronics can. A quick Google search will either show you how to repair an item yourself (always be careful with electronics!) or locals in your areas that may be able to help you repair things.
Upgrading what you have also fits in this category. An important one that people don’t think about is a laptop upgrade when the battery charge doesn’t hold anymore, or it begins to slow when processing. Both of these things are easy to upgrade without simply tossing the whole thing away and buying an entirely new laptop!
Recycle
As previously mentioned, many of the parts of e-waste products can be recycled. However, you can’t just toss your e-waste into your recycling bin. E-waste can take a lot more processing than your curbside council recycling has the capability for. That’s where we come in.
How Want It Gone can help
At Want It Gone we are happy to collect any and all of your e-waste for recycling. Whilst it might seem overkill for you to have us come to collect your old mobile phone, you can certainly pop it into the collection when we come to pick up an old fridge, tv or washing machine.
Using our handy online system you can upload a photo of what you have to be collected and we can send back an immediate quote.