Global e-waste systems
Insights for Australia from other developed countries
© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
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for all electrical and electronic waste, while manufacturers are responsible for properly disposing
of and recycling this waste. In order for a producer to sell electronic products in Germany, it must
register with the Federal Environmental Agency (FEA), agree to cover the transportation costs from the
collection centres, and oversee appropriate disposal of the waste. Consumers are required by law to
take their e-waste to these municipal collection and recycling points, of which there are around 1,500
in Germany.
The German e-waste system includes a designated clearing house, known as the Old Electric
Appliances Register Foundation.
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Once a collection centre is lled to capacity, notication is made
to the clearing house, which supervises transport of the waste to the treatment facility. The quantity
of electronic waste a producer must recycle is determined by its market share of the products it sells
in Germany. The clearing house contacts the producer, which in turn contracts out the transport and
recycling services to independent organisations.
Australia
The introduction of the National Waste Policy in 2009 was designed to set the direction of Australia’s
waste management and resource recovery for the ten years from 2010 to 2020. The policy has
several goals, including adherence to international obligations such as the Basel and Stockholm
Conventions
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; reducing the generation of waste, and ensuring that waste treatment, disposal,
recovery and re-use is safe and environmentally sound. Shortly after, the Product Stewardship Act of
2011 established the framework by which the environmental, health and safety impacts of products,
and in particular those associated with their disposal, are managed. The law included voluntary, co-
regulatory, and mandatory product stewardship, depending on the circumstances.
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A co-regulatory
arrangement, according to the National Waste Policy, is an arrangement that is designed to achieve
regulated outcomes on behalf of liable parties.
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The rst co-regulatory product stewardship scheme established under the law was the National
Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS). The scheme provides Australian consumers
and small businesses with access to free recycling services for televisions, computers, printers and
computer products (e.g. keyboards, mice and hard drives) regardless of brand or age. It requires
television and computer manufacturers and importers to fund the collection and recycling of a
percentage of their products that are disposed of each year.
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Under the scheme, the technology
industry was expected to pay for recycling 30% of televisions and computers in 2012-13, rising to 80%
by 2021-22.The recycling target will increase gradually over time until the 80% level is achieved.
Under the law, manufacturers and importers of televisions and computers must join and fund co-
regulatory arrangements. In turn, these approved co-regulatory arrangements administer the scheme
and are charged with achieving results on behalf of their members. Initially, three co-regulatory
arrangements were approved in 2012, and with a further two approved to start operations in 2013, ve
organisations are now able to deliver services under the NTCRS.
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In 2012-13, its rst year of operation,
the scheme collected approximately 41,000 tonnes of material, more than doubling the estimated
volume that was collected the preceding year, before the programme was launched.