How to solve the ewaste crisis

Product stewardship the only way forward

eDay was only ever intended as a stop-gap measure until a permanent recycling solution, that is free to New Zealand households, is operational.

The eDay Trust is advocating for such a solution and we are calling on industry and Government to work together and permanently solve the increasing problem through a national co-regulatory ewaste product stewardship based recycling scheme.

Product stewardship means that the cost of recycling is built into the price of new products so New Zealanders can recycle responsibly at no extra cost when the equipment reaches end of life. 

The development of an industry-led product stewardship scheme was the single most important recommendation in the 179-page report on ewaste that we released in July 2011.

Read the report here.

ewaste developments across the ditch

In Australia, the Product Stewardship Bill 2011 was enacted by both Houses of Parliament on 22 June 2011. The Product Stewardship Bill 2011 will ensure that waste minimisation and recycling in Australia are mandated on a national basis. The first scheme to be established under the new legislation was a national, industry-led television and computer recycling scheme.

The previous approach to ewaste that relied on voluntary industry initiatives failed to result in any significant environmental benefits - all Australian stakeholders therefore accepted that product stewardship and extended producer responsibility were the best solutions for addressing the growing mountains of ewaste.

We congratulate the Australian Government and IT industry for demonstrating ‘e-responsibility’, and we call on the New Zealand Government and industry to step up and do the same.