TRACEY Collyer started exporting e-waste a few years ago when she was sending her car to Melbourne.
“I realised I had a decade’s collection of broken laptops and printers and TVs stashed about the place and I could just chuck them in the car for recycling on the mainland,” Tracey said as she prepared for her next e waste exporting voyage.
E-waste, or electronic waste, refers to discarded electronic devices, such as computers, televisions, mobiles, and other electronic equipment that are no longer in use or have become obsolete.
E-waste contains various hazardous materials such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants, which can be harmful to the environment and human health if not properly disposed of.
The improper disposal of e-waste can lead to contamination of soil, water, and air, posing a serious threat to human health and the environment and adds to landfill on King Island.
Recycling e-waste can help recover valuable materials such as copper, gold, and silver, reduce the demand for new materials. It is important to properly dispose of e-waste by recycling it through certified e-waste recycling programs, rather than throwing it in the trash or selling it to informal scrap dealers who may use unsafe methods to extract valuable materials.
“I thought that there were a lot of people in a similar situation. You look at a broken laptop or television, you know you can’t put it in the wheelie bin. A tip fee, plus the inconvenience of hauling large appliances into town is prohibitive for some and then it adds to our island’s landfill and contamination.
“I put the word out via Facebook and on the shop noticeboards and items started trickling in. The next year I did it, I got twice as much. Last year I started collecting, but then the boat service to Port Melbourne was discontinued.
“My car was going over on the last boat, but they could not tell me how it was going to come back so I cancelled it.
“Fortunately, Warren Dick from Eastern Line shipping offered to come and take the items I had already collected. He came right to my house and picked everything up and took the e-waste to Launceston for recycling.
“Over the past year, people have either approached me in the street asking if I still collected ewaste or tagged me in various facebook enquiries, so I knew there was a bit about.
“This year my car has to go to Melbourne for some major engine repair so I’m using Eastern Line. “Imagine if everyone with an empty vehicle going off island filled it with items that could go to large mainland recycle collection points.
“I advertised this year’s e-waste collection. And boy what a response! Dozens of printers, towers, screens, and laptops came out of the blue. Fortunately, I’m a Tetris champion and can cram things in every space. In fact, I need to, so nothing will shift on the boat journey or while driving.
“There are old computers including large monitors and towers, though even with the back seats taken out, I won’t get it all in. Fortunately Warren has offered to help me out again. My car load will go to Officeworks in Melbourne and Warren will take the leftovers to Officeworks in Launceston.
“I will admit, it is immensely satisfying to know that this stuff will not only not go into King Island landfill, but will be recycled.
“They separate the glass, metal and plastic, and then the circuitry is stripped for precious metals like gold and cadmium.
“It has truly been a team effort. Over two dozen people contributed e-waste. But also, the Senior Citizen’s op-shop kindly offered to be a collection point, the Post Office takes the printer cartridges, and the Lions Club is taking all the cables, which makes the whole packing exercise so much tidier.”