The Andrews Labor Government is seeking community and industry input on the details of its proposed ban on e-waste from landfill-waste.
Delivering on the Labor Government’s election commitment to ban e-waste from landfill, Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio today launched a public consultation on how the ban will be implemented.
The Labor Government has invested $16.5 million in measures to make the ban more effective.
That includes an education and awareness campaign, to educate Victorians about how and why to recycle their e-waste, and new e-waste collection points to be installed across the state.
E-waste includes any device that requires a power cord or a battery to operate and that is no longer wanted or useful, including phones, computer and computer accessories, and even kitchen equipment such as toasters.
E-waste is growing three times faster than general waste with research showing that in 2015 some 109,000 tonnes of e-waste got into the Victorian waste system. Projections suggest Victoria will be producing 256,000 tonnes of e-waste by 2035.
Responsibly managing e-waste will help reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and the negative impacts on our environment, provide safe management of hazardous materials, and allow greater recovery of valuable materials.
The development of the Waste Management Policies to ban e-waste from landfill and ensure appropriate management of e-waste is a joint project between DELWP and the Environment Protection Authority.
Victoria’s seven waste and resource recovery groups, who help to deliver waste and resource recovery programs around the state, will join with these other agencies to discuss the ban and the supporting measures with stakeholders.
A policy impact assessment and draft Waste Management Policies that will give effect to the ban have now been released for public comment for three months, with the ban expected to be implemented by July 2018.
These documents are available at /waste/e-waste
Quotes attributable to Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio
“Our plan to better manage e-waste will encourage safe management of hazardous materials and allow greater recovery of valuable materials, ultimately leading to a more stable industry and jobs for Victoria.”
“The consultation process is important because we will need action from the community as well as recyclers and landfill managers to divert such a significant amount of waste from our landfills.”
Quote attributable to the Member for Albert Park Martin Foley
“This is an important issue, we’re working with local government to ensure the process is smooth.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020