Electronics industry proactive in recycling

EcoRecycle, the Victorian state government agency responsible for minimising the creation of waste and promoting the sustainable use of resources, has congratulated the Australian electronics and electrical industry on its pilot program for end-of-life recovery and processing of televisions, VCRs and similar equipment.

The pilot follows study tours of recycling facilities in Japan, and is an initiative of AEEMA and its partner forum, the Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association. AEEMA and CESA hope this initiative will move the industry towards the development of a product stewardship strategy for electrical and electronic products. Each year increasing numbers of electrical and electronic products are discarded improperly.

This is not only environmentally unsound, but economically too, given the significant opportunities for much of the metal, plastics, glass and other materials to be recovered and re-used. Hitachi, LG Electronics, Mitsubishi, NEC Australia, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp and Sony are the electronics suppliers taking part in the initiative at this date.