A new agreement has given the Waitaki Resource Recovery Park the ability to responsibly recycle more electronic waste, such as televisions and computers.
Park manager Marian Shore said the agreement with 1RCN e-Cycle2, an environmental project established as a partnership between the RCN group and the Community Recycling Network of New Zealand, with funding from the Ministry for the Environment, would help tackle the escalating problem of e-waste.
The agreement followed the huge success of the TakeBack television project in Waitaki, which was one of the top districts in terms of televisions handed in. It originally had funding to take 896 television, but ended up accepting more than 1800, after getting additional funding because of the demand.
''It is very satisfying to be able to guarantee that all electronic waste we accept at the Waitaki Resource Recovery Park is recycled in a safe and responsible manner,'' she said about the latest agreement.
An added benefit, was that all product dismantled locally - plastics, metals, glass, copper and other materials - was distributed to New Zealand companies for recycling.
If no recycling solution was available locally, components were shipped to international recyclers, with full tracking on all items.
In contrast, some electronic waste was still being shipped by developed countries to developing countries, often illegally or without government permits. Unprotected workers, often children, were employed by amateur operators to extract valuable materials and other components are just dumped in the environment.
The Waitaki Resource Recovery Park was able to receive electronic waste seven days per week.
