TechCollect investigates why.
Majority (95.7%) of Australian consumers agree that recycling electronic waste (e-waste) is important, however almost half (45%) do not currently recycle, according to new research by free national recycling service, TechCollect. Many who do not recycle cite lack of awareness of their options or concerns over data security as key reasons.
The research also found that the majority (80.7%) of respondents admitted that they place more importance on household recycling like cardboard, glass and plastic than they do on recycling their e-waste.
When asked what the biggest barriers to recycling were, the top responses were ‘I’m not sure where to start’ (46.1%) and ‘I’m worried about my personal data getting into the wrong hands’ (38.7%). Other responses also showed that many didn’t know where drop off points were, or even that they could recycle their old technology in the first place.
Nearly half of respondents (43%) also admitted to putting their e-waste on the nature strip for council collection. However, TechCollect CEO, Carmel Dollisson said this can be hazardous to the environment as well as providing no guarantee of responsible recycling that would recover the raw commodities for use in new products.
“Often people will try and do the right thing, without realising that kerbside collections don’t always provide a guarantee that the product won’t end up in landfill.
“By recycling televisions and computers through a program like TechCollect we ensure that non-renewable resources are safely recovered, so that they can be used again in future manufacturing, as well as ensuring that product containing materials which can be dangerous to both people and the environment if put in landfill, are instead correctly recovered or disposed of,” she said.
Furthermore, 91.8% of respondents believe there should be better retail incentives in place to make it easier for them to recycle their e-waste, while 70.6% didn’t know that they could recycle their power cords. Just more than half (50.3%) of respondents have more than three unused devices at home, and 36.7 per cent have more than five unused electric cords/cables that are collecting dust.
“Information and awareness are key to the success of the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme which TechCollect operates under. An important priority for the Scheme is to educate the public to understand the important role we all play in responsible e-waste recycling. In the digital age where technology consumption is at an all-time high, this has never been more prevalent,” Dollisson added.