Harvey Norman Offers Free TV Recycling in the South Island

Harvey Norman started offering free TV drop offs for recycling at nine of its stores on the South Island from Friday 5 April. This TV recycling initiative is part of the Ministry for the Environment’s TV TakeBack programme. Harvey Norman’s generous offer to consumers will initially focus on the South Island where the analogue to digital switch over occurs on 28 April (excluding the West Coast, which has already happened).

Harvey Norman is the only retailer participating in the TV TakeBack programme currently offering a free drop off where there is no obligation to buy a new TV. There is also a strong message from Harvey Norman that you can purchase set top boxes to receive the digital signal that will work with most existing TVs. There are also a number of new TV models available which will all receive the digital signal.

Harvey Norman is partnering with RCN e-Cycle, the e-waste recycling programme established by the RCN Group and the Community Recycling Network in September 2010. RCN e-Cycle is providing the collection services from all Harvey Norman stores and the recycling solution for the TVs collected at Harvey Norman in their recycling plants in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

RCN e-Cycle project manager Jon Thornhill said “We are proud to be associated with Harvey Norman and the Ministry for the Environment in providing a unique solution to Harvey Norman customers. We are expecting a great deal of consumer interest and activity over the next few weeks at all the Harvey Norman stores. We expect customers to take advantage of this free service providing environmentally friendly, responsible recycling.”

RCN e-Cycle has created over 30 full time jobs in New Zealand over the last two and a half years and accepts all IT and most consumer electronics products from businesses and households on a charge basis. All TVs and other products are dismantled and processed in RCN e-Cycle’s recycling plants and the components are distributed to local and international recyclers for responsible recycling. The recycled materials are usually re-used as raw materials for new products, including copper, gold, various metals, glass etc.

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 is going digital. RCN e-Cycle is one of three recyclers chosen to support the Ministry for the Environment’s initiative.
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