[LINK] 1.6m computers into landfill, 1.8 into storage

[Chris Maltby]

> At 10:28 AM 11/11/2006, Stilgherrian wrote:
>> Says the ABS:
>>    It has been estimated that in Australia, in 2006, there will be
>>    around 1.6 million computers disposed of in landfill, another
>>    1.8 million in storage (in addition to the 5.3 million already
>>    gathering dust in garages and other storage areas) and half a
>>    million recycled, according to the "Advancing Australia" report
>>    from the Department of Communications, Information Technology
>>    and the Arts.
 
On Sat, Nov 11, 2006 at 11:11:59AM +1100, Adam Todd wrote:
> Yup, I've got about 30 complete in my garage all heading to landfill in the 
> next week or two.  I've got about 400 motherboards from XT to Pentiums that 
> are all going as well (does that count as 400?)
> 
> I got a lot of other stuff I'm tossing too.  Hundreds of network cards, 
> hubs, cables (AUI, ether, phone, multipair) dozens of monitors.  I tossed 
> 30 monitors last council cleanup.

There is a bit of a campaign going on the bring in extended producer
responsibility for this kind of material as is now common in other
parts of the world.

Waverley Council held a free e-waste collection at Bondi Beach a few
months ago, and with deliberately minimal publicity managed to fill
a large skip. The material was taken by Sims who claim to recycle
almost all of it, including shipping monitor glass to europe for
re-manufacture (there is no facility here). That collection cost
the council $6,000 which they funded from the normal waste budget.
They end up paying for dumping it when people put it out on the
street, either for the regular clean-up or illegally. This way at
least it gets recycled.

They're holding another collection next weekend at Bondi Junction
and have done a fair bit of publicity this time. My guess is they
will be totally overwhelmed by the quantity they get. Especially if
people like Adam bring their stuff from outside the Waverley area.

People with a lot of stuff could try calling Sims to see if they
will take it and at what price.

Chris