Published on Tuesday, 23 May 2023 at 10:50:23 AM
Ensuring compliance with State Government waste disposal regulations while providing a community service that makes it easier to responsibly dispose of e-waste conveniently, has led to changes in delivery of this service.
Our bi-monthly e-waste collections in Dardanup and Eaton by Matt Meijer from E-recovery are being replaced by a more centralised drop-off service at the Banksia Road Transfer Station where you will still find Matt continuing his great recycling work.
Why the change?
Matt was finding it difficult to dispose of materials collected at his community drop-offs - which he expanded to include not just e-waste but other waste streams – at other waste management facilities in the region. The volumes Matt was collecting, started to put his activity into the realms of ‘Commercial Operations’ and due to licencing issues at these facilities, Matt was no longer allowed to dispose of the waste he received from the community as he had in the past.
To help ensure compliance with these licencing regulations, and in order to ensure an e-waste service remained available to our community, the Shire expanded its facilities at the Banksia Road Transfer Station to better manage the collection, storage and processing of e-waste.
Once this service became available at the transfer station, Matt found there was more e-waste being dropped off there than what he was receiving at his collection points in Dardanup and Eaton.
As a result, in collaboration with Matt, Council agreed to alter its e-waste service so Matt could instead process e-waste dropped off at the transfer station, providing better outcomes for our community.
Why do we need to recycle e-waste?
We all have a responsibility to manage our waste better, including the rapidly growing stream of e-waste we produce. E-waste can contain hazardous materials and should be collected and recycled correctly to prevent harm to the environment and human health.
Maintaining a convenient and cost-effective e-waste drop-off service puts the Shire of Dardanup in a positive position ahead of the State Government’s commitment to banning of e-waste disposal to landfill by 2024.
The Shire’s e-waste collection service through Matt’s E-Recovery first commenced in March, 2021 and in its first year resulted in enormous volumes of e-waste diverted from landfill including 126 televisions; 107 printers; 66 computer monitors; 59 laptops and 7 fridges!
Council Plan 2022-32 also has “Adopt innovative and more sustainable waste management solutions” as a listed objective.
New service details
Drop-off of most e-waste items for recycling will remain free of charge however large items such as big screen televisions will attract a $10 per item fee to assist with the cost of processing and transport for recycling.
Mr Meijer will be based at the transfer station and continue to be engaged by the Shire to assist with processing of the waste stream to maximise recycling of the materials and avoid landfill disposal.
Once processed, eligible e-waste will be transported by the Shire to Total Green in Welshpool which is the recognised National Computer and Television Recycling Scheme product stewardship provider for Western Australia.
Under the service changes, the final community e-waste collection services will be:
Following this, residents are encouraged to drop off their e-waste for recycling to our Banksia Road Transfer Station which is available for disposal of General Waste and Recycling between Friday and Monday from 8.30am to 4.00pm and from 1.30pm to 4.00pm on Wednesdays.
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