E-waste draft rules make late show

Beverley Head
Monday, 12 September 2011 16:32

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

Companies importing 5,000 or more computers or printers into Australia will have to participate in and contribute to the operation of the national e-waste scheme expected to get underway next year. And the service won't just be available for city dwellers - towns with populations of just 10,000 must be provided with at least one free recycling collection each year.

The Government this afternoon finally released its draft regulations on mandatory computer recycling - just hours before the public consultation in Sydney and Adelaide kicks off. Ian Coles, the interim chair of the Product Stewardship Organisation, said that while the organisation hadn't been left completely in the dark by Government he had hoped that the draft would have been released earlier.

Mr Coles had been expecting the Government to release the draft regulations on Friday, but they finally debuted about 4pm this afternoon.

The draft regulations are intended to govern the practical operation of the Product Stewardship Act 2011. They detail the requirements for importers and manufacturers of TVs and computers, including recycling targets, access to collection services and also outline the quite detailed reporting required to demonstrate that the products have been properly recycled and not simply re-routed to landfill.

Mr Coles said that there had been good dialogue with the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, which is managing the introduction of the scheme - but he had hoped people would have had more time to review the draft. 'It's not a good process the way it's turned out,' he told iTWire shortly before the Department finally released the draft on its website.

The draft can be downloaded from http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/waste/ewaste/index.html.

The Government's timetable calls for the final regulations to be passed into law before the end of the year, with the scheme progressively rolled out during 2012 starting with the cities and major regional centres. The service will be free to consumers who will be able to recycle computers, monitors, printers, mice and keyboards, through the scheme.

According to the Federal Government e-waste is growing at rates three times faster than any other form of waste. In 2007-8 it claimed 16.8 million TVs and computers units were junked with 84 per cent being sent directly to landfill.