Australia Post joins TechCollect for e-waste disposal scheme

A national e-waste shipping solution has been developed in partnership between Australia Post and TechCollect.

The e-waste solution scheme has been created as a response to the issue of the disposal of unwanted electronic and electrical goods.

The service, Badged TechExpress, will see households and small businesses able to recycle unwanted and ‘end of life’ electronic goods and devices by using any Australia Post office or post box across the nation.

Electrical goods received by the TechExpress service will be manually dismantled, data destroyed, and components being sorted into process streams. Valuable materials will then be manufactured to build new products, helping create a circular economy and sustainable environment.

The new initiative will work in conjunction with Australia and New Zealand Recycling Platform’s (ANZRP) currently running 276 drop-off sites, giving consumers living in regional and remote areas a convenient, safe and secure recycling solution.

CEO of ANZRP-TechCollect Warren Overton said the company was formed to capture end-of-life electronics, committing them to a downstream recycling process.

“We are delighted to be working with Australia Post to launch this initiative which will support consumers and small businesses that want to do the right thing, but don’t have convenient access to the recycling services they need. In addition to our existing drop-off sites, this partnership will allow us to go one step further in helping Australians transition towards a circular economy to tackle e-waste, and mitigate the environmental harms that it poses” said Overton.

“We are proud to play our part in improving e-waste recycling, as no single company has all the solutions, reach or capability to combat this in isolation” said Australia Post Chief Sustainability Officer Susan Mizrahi. “By using our unique Australia-wide network, we have already successfully enabled customers to return hundreds of tonnes of waste streams including printer cartridges, mobile phones and coffee pods and this is a natural next step” she continued.

“With majority of our post office network regionally-based, our partnership with TechCollect builds on research that shows three-quarters of regional and rural residents see their post office as making a broader social contribution beyond providing products and services.

The opportunity to recycle this rapidly growing waste stream is another way we can connect with and support our rural and regional customers, particularly those who cannot access the current metropolitan collection points” said Susan.

The scheme allows consumers to recycle up to 22 kilograms of e-waste, inclusive of items like mobile phones, laptops, keyboards, computer parts and accessories, with a mailing fee of $14.95/

With services starting in 2012, TechCollect has to date diverted 180,000 tonnes of e-waste from landfill, and recycled 93 per cent of materials via its national e-waste drop-off sites.

ANZRP are a supporting partner of the upcoming AWRE 2020 online event. Find out more here.