Nick Smith6 October,
2010
Environment Minister Nick Smith today announced
$1.15 million in grants from the Waste Minimisation
Fund for eDay 2010 and new e-waste processing
facilities.
"New Zealand needs
to recycle more of the 80,000 tonnes of
electronic waste that goes to landfill each
year to recover resources and reduce pollution,"
Dr Smith said. "Our strategy is to
support eDay 2010 to help co-ordinate collection
and raise the profile of e-waste but also
to fund a new initiative to ensure better
recycling and processing of the waste.
"The electronic
waste from used computers, cellphones, printers,
monitors and televisions has thousands of
tonnes of recoverable lead, mercury, gold,
cadmium and silver. For instance, there
is an estimated 20,000 tonnes of lead in
the 10 million cathode ray tubes in New
Zealand's computer monitors and TVs."
The first grant of $1000,000 is to the 2020
Communications Trust to run eDay on 6 November
2010 at more than 40 venues right across
New Zealand.
"eDay's popularity
has grown exponentially and problems developed
in 2008 and 2009 with management of the
waste after it was collected," Dr Smith
said. "This year we are engaging e-waste
professionals to ensure best practice in
recycling and in managing the residual waste."
The second grant of
$400,000 is a joint venture between the
RCN Group and the Community Recycling Network
towards developing a nationwide network
of 20 permanent depots for e-waste as well
as recycling facilities in Auckland, Wellington
and Christchurch.
"We need to move
beyond just eDay to a permanent solution
for New Zealand's electronic waste where
we have the capacity to collect and recycle
all year round," Dr Smith said. "This
initiative enables us to provide a long-term
solution to our electronic waste problem.
"I encourage households,
schools and businesses to give their support
to eDay 2010 on 6 November and responsibly
dispose of their unwanted or broken electronic
equipment. Every computer, cellphone or
monitor that doesn't go to landfill reduces
pollution and the need for further mineral
extraction."
