Hon Amy Adams
Minister for the Environment

8 May 2013

50,000 televisions collected in Govt recycling scheme

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced that more than 50,000 televisions have been collected for recycling as part of the Government’s TV TakeBack programme.

“When I announced the start of the recycling programme, I challenged New Zealanders to play their part in caring for the environment. The response at this early stage of the scheme has been very encouraging.

“Old televisions are a difficult recycling challenge, but through people thinking about the environment, we have stopped hundreds of tonnes of harmful material going to landfill.”

The TV TakeBack programme aims to divert televisions from going to landfill in an initiative that involves the Government partnering with a range of councils, recyclers and retailers to provide a nationwide network of subsidised options.

The programme was launched in September last year in Hawke’s Bay and the West Coast, where more than 23,000 televisions were collected.

It was then extended to the rest of the South Island in March, with about 28,000 televisions collected so far, including about 6000 that had been damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes.

The TV TakeBack programme coincides with New Zealand’s switch from analogue to digital television.

The initiative will be rolled out to the lower North Island and the East Cape by August, and the rest of the North Island from October, to coincide with the digital switchover in each region.

Through a Government subsidy, the cost to the public of recycling a television has been no more than $5.

The programme is also aimed at expanding electronic recycling services across New Zealand, raising public awareness and ensuring recyclers have the capacity and capability to deal with increased volumes of e-waste in the future.

ENDS

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