Australia 'Coming Last' in Dealing with e-Waste

Recycling laws in Japan, along with the highly industrialised European Union, are among the world's strictest. Here the three Rs "reduction, reuse and recycling" aren't merely environmental buzz words. Not only are they enshrined in legislation, they're part of the national mindset. This kind of political will appears sorely missing in Australia.

PSA executive officer John Gertsakis says there is no clarity of vision from the Australian Government about what it wants to do about e-waste. PSA is an industry association whose members include Toshiba, Dick Smith Electronics, Philips, Panasonic and Samsung.

"There's no sophisticated policy for dealing with e-waste on a national basis and this creates mixed messages from state and federal government about what they expect industry to do about recycling of consumer electronics," Mr Gertsakis says.

The spread of toxic e-waste is a rapidly expanding problem in Australia. Studies of consumer spending have shown steady increases in electronic goods purchases.

The Canon Consumer Lifestyle Index reported that Australians spent $5 billion on digital devices in 2007. The 2008 figure is expected to be about $6 billion.

This will have been spurred on by the Olympic Games, the first to be broadcast in high-definition, creating a huge demand for plasma and LCD televisions.

These usually replace cathode ray tube-type TVs, the leading cause of lead presence in municipal waste streams - and lead is the tip of the toxic e-waste iceberg.

Other toxic chemicals are brominated-flame retardants such as polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), each of which is found in older computer equipment.

In mobile phones and other e-goods, arsenic, beryllium, copper and zinc are used. These chemicals, poorly handled, can be occupational and environmental health hazards. Also, mercury, cadmium and other toxic materials can find their way into local waste streams or offshore to unregulated environments. Delhi is a prime target for the developed world's e-waste, as is Nigeria - where indiscriminate dumping and poor safety regulations put handlers at risk.

A lack of regulatory control over e-waste management makes Australia complicit in exposing foreign workers to toxic substances.

Full Story: News.com.au