Last chance to recycle TVs

9 August 2013

Last chance to recycle TVs

TV TakeBack is almost over for the South Island. Tuesday 20 August is the last day for subsidised TV recycling. People need to get in quick if they want to recycle their unwanted TVs at the subsidised price of $5.

“South Island people have really got behind TV TakeBack” said RCN e-Cycle spokesperson Sue Coutts. “RCN e-Cycle sites across the South Island have collected 20,611 unwanted TVs so far.”

“It only costs $5 to recycle a TV through the TV TakeBack programme. On August 21st it will go back to the un-subsidised price of $25.”

“With only a week to go, we’re still coming across people that haven’t got around to dropping off their old TV’s. I ran into someone last week who had two in the spare room.” said Ms Coutts. “They’d heard about TV TakeBack but just hadn’t got around to dropping them off.”

“Some people tend to leave things to the last minute. Others need a friend or relation to give them a hand to get their big, old TV into the car.”

“Anyone with an old TV in the garage or the spare room should bring it in to their nearest TV TakeBack site straight away so they don’t miss out.”

Ms Coutts said RCN e-Cycle has been working with community recyclers, councils, contractors and retailers to make sure everyone has a chance to recycle their old TV. Electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world, with most electronic items designed for very short life spans.

“Mining our old electronics for the rare earths and precious metals they contain is a much better option than mining our earth for virgin materials.” said Ms Coutts.

“Businesses and households that want to protect our environment and back the 100% Pure NZ brand need year round solutions for their e-waste.”

“The RCN e-Cycle network is committed to meeting this need and will continue to provide permanent drop off sites for e-waste and unwanted TV’s once TV TakeBack ends.”

Background
The full list of available TV TakeBack drop off points can be viewed at www.tvtakeback.govt.nz

TV TakeBack is a nationwide Government programme, funded by the Waste Minimisation Fund, to support the recycling of TVs instead of them being dumped in landfills. It is timed to coincide with New Zealand going digital. RCN e-Cycle is one of three recyclers partnering with the Ministry for the Environment in this initiative.

RCN e-Cycle collects the TVs from the drop off sites and stores. They are delivered to their recycling plants in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The TVs are dismantled and the components are distributed into responsible, environmentally friendly recycling streams. RCN e-Cycle holds ISO 9001 and 14001 certification. www.e-cycle.co.nz

20,611 TVs have been collected through South Island RCN E-Cycle TV TakeBack sites so far. A further 34,011 have been collected via affiliated retailers Harvey Norman and Noel Leeming. 17,808 were collected during phase one. In total RCN e-Cycle has collected 72,430 unwanted TV’s across NZ. http://www.e-cycle.co.nz/centres/ for permanent local drop off locations.

TVs collected through RCN sites so far (data as available at Aug 4 2013 does not include retail sites)

ENDS

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