The Woollahra or Waverley Councils in New South Wales, Australia are making recycling of e-waste easier. Unwanted computers, audio equipment and mobile phones can be dropped off at a designated location on a specific date.
The local authorities are responding to the increasing problem that e-waste poses. Space at landfill sites is becoming scarce and a lot of electronic products contain dangerous components such as lead, cadmium and arsenic. These can leach into the ground and contaminate water and soils.
Both councils are working together on this intiative for the first time this year, which will enable residents from both areas to dispose of their unwanted electronic goods safely.
E-waste collected will be manually broken down and printed circuit boards, cabling, glass and plastics will be recovered and processed to enable the raw materials to be used in the production of new items.
The councils encourage re-use of electronic products in good condition but say the best way of disposing of non-functioning items is to recycle them.
Local residents will be able to drop off e-waste in any condition and this includes IT equipment, laptops, scanners, networking equipment, televisions, DVD players, VCRs, loudspeakers and projectors, as well as telephony and mobile technology.
White goods and smoke detectors will not be accepted.