Let’s start with stating the obvious. Electronic waste (e-waste) does not belong in your yellow recycling bin. E-waste can contain hazardous materials and that’s why things like batteries and e-waste need to be recycled separately.
But if you do the right thing and put your old television or computer on the *verge for recycling or even take it to your nearest location point, have you ever wondered: What happens after? Have you asked yourself: “How do I know my old electronics actually got recycled and didn’t end up in Asia burning away?”
This is why, we at Total Green, have decided to go all out and show you as much as we can from the processes we apply every day to recycle in excess of 90% of all e-waste we receive. You can learn why you can trust that we don’t just strip your laptop of copper and gold and throw out the rest in our article Why is Total Green ISO and AS/NZS certified.
So how does all the dead e-waste mass gets to us?
Via multiple channels. Our biggest recycling volume comes from councils around Western Australia. You can find out the latest recycling champions in our monthly statistics blogposts. Some councils have a permanent collection point or verge collections, some have a whole recycling centre such as Stirling’s Recycling Centre Balcatta or Mindaries’ Tamala Park. Others are forced due to various reasons such as space restrictions to collaborate with other councils. For example, the City of Perth has a great relationship with Stirling and sends its residents to them. Other councils prefer to hold monthly or quarterly collection events for their residents.
And then there are some councils that simply don’t recycle e-waste at all and send all your old electronics to landfill. It goes without saying but we’ll say it anyway – that’s not the best environmental and economical solution. Not only it pollutes our planet, the loss of precious metals we worked so hard to dig out of the earth is also ludicrous. You can learn more in-depth about Why we need to ban e-waste from landfill in this article.
Easy solution for all
Lastly, we also offer our collection services to residents and companies across Perth and WA. We only charge a small fee to cover our transport cost and tell you upfront how much it’s going to cost. (For a free quote head over here.)
If you’d prefer to drop it off to your nearest collection point, we always recommend to call up first to ensure they take all the items you have as some might not be covered by the National Recycling Scheme.
E-waste action
So if you have any old non-functional electronics, or just your phone depreciating in your draw, do the right thing and let it move on. We are planning to show you what materials we recover and where it goes in one of our next videos. So make sure you follow us on socials.
And if you have any questions, you can come to chat with us in our E-waste warrior Facebook group or comment underneath.
*Please note that not all WA councils offer verge collections. Some have skips bins, other distribute annual tip passes. Please check with your local council what your options are.