NEWS RELEASE
13 August 2013

Free e-waste recycling a first for Wellington

Thanks to a new partnership with e-recycler RemarkIT, Wellingtonians can now dispose of most e-waste for free at the Southern Landfill’s recycling centre.

Up until now, the cost to the public of recycling e-waste has meant that most items like computers and printers have ended up in landfills. This partnership – the first of its kind in New Zealand – means the city will improve its environmental standing on waste disposal.

RemarkIT follow the Ministry for the Environment’s guidelines for collecting and recycling e-waste, and the Australian-New Zealand Standard for collection, storage, transport and treatment of electrical and electronic equipment. This means they report on where all collected materials have gone and don't dump leaded glass into landfills.

Stavros Michael, the Council’s City Networks Manager, says the partnership is a great new service for Wellingtonians.

“We worked hard to find a solution for free e-waste disposal that is not funded by rates,” he says. “Through our partnership with RemarkIT, the sale of components from the recyclable part of e-waste will fund the service, making it free for Wellingtonians and the Council.“

The following electrical equipment can now be recycled free of charge:

computers, laptops, printers, fax machines, copiers, scanners, toys, leisure and sports equipment, calculators, phones, toasters, microwaves, fans, fryers, vacuum cleaners, irons, scales, drills, sewing machines, smoke detectors, regulators, thermostats, radios, hi-fi, stereos, DVD and video players, and other home entertainment equipment – except for TVs.

Television sets and cathode ray tube (CRT) computer screens will cost $20 to drop off, in line with other e-recyclers. These screens include leaded glass that must be stripped out and processed overseas.

For a limited time, though, Wellingtonians will be able to recycle their old TVs for just $5 as part of TV Takeback, which coincides with New Zealand’s switch from analogue to digital television (Going Digital).

Funded by the Ministry for the Environment, TV Takeback starts in Wellington on 21 August and covers the first 3070 TV sets to be recycled at the landfill. After this, the $20 fee will apply. The TV Takeback subsidy does not cover computer CRT screens.

ENDS

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