Keeping up with the pace of developing technology is tricky, and getting rid of it when it becomes obsolete is just as problematic.
But now there is a new facility in Dunedin where outdated computer equipment can be taken for recycling.
Cargill Enterprises Business Services has set up a collection depot outside the Rummage recycling store at the Green Island landfill.
The depot was established on January 1, and already it has amassed six large pallet-sized bins of computers, monitors, keyboards, printers and scanners.
And the pile is growing with increasing speed, Dunedin City Council waste strategy officer Catherine Broad said.
"E-waste is huge.
"It's the fastest growing waste stream in the developed world because obsolescence on this equipment is three to four years.
"People in Dunedin have been keeping this stuff because they want to dispose of it the right way.
"But until now, there hasn't been a facility to cope with the magnitude of e-waste in Dunedin."
The new initiative is designed to minimise the amount of toxic material in the Green Island landfill, such as mercury and lead which is commonly found in computer monitors.
While some of the equipment was able to be refurbished and sold on, Ms Broad said most of it was taken to Cargill Enterprises in South Dunedin where it was dismantled and sorted into components such as metal, plastic and cable.
"Most of the computer parts are recyclable and are sold to different markets."
Ms Broad said it was free to leave computer equipment in the bins at Rummage, but there was a $10 charge for leaving Cathode Ray Tube (CRT monitors) because they contain lead.
There was nowhere in New Zealand to process the hazardous material, so it had to be sent overseas, she said.
Profits from the sale of the recycled materials were used to pay the wages of up to four people who dismantled the equipment.
"This initiative is not for profit.
"It's basically keeping people in jobs," she said.
Ms Broad expected the amount of e-waste being dropped off at Rummage to increase significantly as Dunedin residents and businesses became aware of the recycling depot.
More people would be employed to help dismantle the equipment, she said.
