Just some customer feedback for you….
The old computer equipment was collected this morning. The driver called 10 minutes beforehand as promised.
The driver introduced (by first name) both himself and his co-worker upon arrival. This was a very nice (and unexpected) gesture.
It was a real pleasure dealing with such polite and friendly representatives of your company!
Thank you!
Regards,
Lorraine

The weather, our beaches, our heritage, our wonderful scenery, our exotic creatures, our skills on the Barbie…there are plenty of things that make Australia great and, at 1800Ewaste, we’re dedicated to keeping it that way. We’re passionate about diverting as much electronic waste from Australian landfill as humanly possible, by campaigning for electronic waste recycling across the country.

A CRT monitor in landfill can last a lifetime

The old style computer monitors and televisions are also known as CRT monitors and these monitors are jam packed with harmful chemicals. They have it all, from cadmium – a cancerous chemical, to lead and mercury. By sending our CRT monitors to landfill, we allow these poisonous chemicals to seep into our soil and water streams, destroying parts of Australian wildlife and the Australian environment that we are so proud of.  Mercury is so damaging, that just one drop can poison more than one million gallons of water, and it doesn’t stop there – it also reacts with oxygen to poison the air we breathe too. Scary stuff.

Proud to be an Australian company – recycling for our country

1800Ewaste was born right here, in Australia, and our entire recycling operation takes place right here too, in Australia. We care for our country and the environment we live in, we’re also dedicated to leaving our country and its beauty intact for future generations to enjoy. None of the electronic waste we collect is ever resold or reused – we recycle 95-98% (by weight) of our ewaste, so that it stays far away from landfill.

We also never export any of your electronic waste – all ewaste is recycling in Australian ISO140001 approved refineries – ensuring that your ewaste is recycled in line with global standards. It also helps provide more jobs right here in Australia too.

Keep Australia beautiful – don’t send your old televisions and computers to landfill.

It might seem like the easy option, but trust us – keeping our country in the manner to which we’ve become accustomed is a priority right now. The government has started to introduce new legislations to ensure landfills won’t accept electronic waste, and they are backing a new initiative ‘The Product Stewardship’ scheme, that will see the responsibility of recycling passed back to the manufacturer. However, progress is slow and, in the meantime, we need to ensure that we’re not littering our country with hazardous waste.

Call 1800Ewaste today and receive your obligation free quote to have your electronic waste collected and recycled. Our friendly customer service team will explain to you our processes, and can arrange a collection for a time that suits YOU. Should you wish to show off your accomplishment, we can also provide you with a Certificate of Recycling and Destruction, so that you know that your ewaste has been correctly disposed of.

So, this Australia Day, while your lighting up the barbie and cracking open a bottle of beer, make sure you’ve made 2012 your year to make a difference to your country. Recycle you electronic waste with Australia’s number one recycling firm – keeping ewaste out of Australia’s landfills.

Happy Australia Day from everyone at 1800Ewaste.

In our previous article on Fake Ewaste Recycling, we highlighted the issue of fake recycling companies illegally exporting electronic waste and the damage they were causing to public health and the environment.

It can be easy to shrug off the damage our Ewaste is doing overseas by claiming that it doesn’t affect you, and possibly that we are helping their economy by providing employment for poverty stricken areas.  A report for PBS however, reveals that the downsides of illegal exporting is closer to home than we think. The report suggested that criminal organisations in Ghana “comb through” the electronic waste exported from the U.S and the U.K for harddrives, they are then able to retrieve personal data from their internal memories to steal your identity.

Exporting electronic waste leaves your personal information open to criminal minds.

So whilst you might think that China’s ewaste isn’t your problem, the issue of identity theft can easily come back to haunt you. Consider the online facilities that we use these days – online banking, internet shopping, tax returns, social networking – all of these are services involve us giving out our most personal information, all of which are stored somewhere on your computer hard drive. Ensuring that your data is destroyed is crucial in protecting yourself from fraud – merely deleting files from your computers is not enough. You need to make sure that your items will be physically destroyed in a safe and secure environment.

In order to avoid getting fooled by fraudulent recycling companies, we need to become more vigilant when it comes to disposing of our electronic waste. Whilst there has been few, if any, reported cases of fraudulent recycling companies within Australia, it’s always important to be wary of where our electronic waste is going.

Free electronic waste collections? Who’s really paying?

You might think that having your electronic waste collected free of charge is ideal but the Electronics Take Back Coalition warn that, if a recycling company is offering to collect or accept your ewaste for free, you can assume that it will be sent overseas. It’s a common myth, especially with televisions, that the contents of your ewaste are valuable to the recycler; in reality, the cost of properly recycling an old analogue television far outweighs the value of the content inside. “Fake” recyclers, on the other hand, can get payed to export old televisions to countries such as China and India.  If you’re not the one paying for your electronic waste collection, make sure you find out who is.

Refurbish, Resell or Recycle?

When looking for someone to collect your electronic waste, you’ll probably come across companies that are looking to refurbish or resell your electronic waste. Whilst this is one way of postponing your electronic waste getting to landfill, there is no guarantee where it might ultimately end up. Allowing companies to refurbish and/or resell old hard drives and laptops will also still leave you open to the dangers of identity theft and fraud. Make sure that the recycling company you use are ISO14001 accredited and are planning on physically destroying your electronic waste.

1800Ewaste is Australia’s leading ewaste collection and recycling service and we’re passionate about diverting as much electronic equipment from landfill as possible. We believe in prolonging the lifespan of valuable materials by recycling all that we can. All of the electronic waste that we collect is recycled within Australia and we never send your electronic waste overseas in order to combat the illegal export of ewaste to Third World Countries. The cost of our service covers not just the collection of your electronic waste from your office or home, but also the cost of recycling too; it’s a labour intensive process where all of your ewaste is broken down and stripped right down to its core components in safe and secure recycling facilities.

Currently 95-98%, by weight, of all the materials we collect is recycled for future use. Our service is professional, fast and reliable; we’ll come to you, collect your Ewaste and deliver it to the appropriate recycling facility. 1800ewaste only recycles with ISO14001 accredited Australian recycling facilities. Call us today on 1800 392 783 for an obligation free quote and find out how we can help you recycle your electronic waste.

Originally posted 2010-09-24 14:15:31.

With computer technology ever-evolving and competitive low prices, old (and often still working) computers are fast becoming the highest form of E-Waste the world over.

The danger in this is the improper disposal of your unwanted computers through landfills, allowing them to add to the constantly growing E-Waste statistics.

On average…

• 1.6 million computers were simply thrown out with the trash in 2006 with only 500,000 being recycled;
• 1.8 million were in storage and…
• 5.3 million were simply sitting unused gathering dust.

What the owners of those 1.6 million computers improperly disposed of were probably unaware of was the highly toxic composition of their PC and the threat it can pose when it becomes E-Waste, such as lead and mercury poisoning for humans and environmental damage.

This article will list some simple suggestions to ensure that your old computer does not end up doing more harm than good.

When purchasing new parts or an entirely new system, ask the retailer if they will accept your old technology for recycling. Companies such as Dell Computers offer recycling and donation programs

• Companies such as PC Disposals and Brisbane Computer Recyclers (both operating around Brisbane) offer the removal of old, outdated or simply broken computer equipment at a low cost
• Give your outdated technology to friends or family who might not be able to afford an upgrade
• Sell on eBay, gumtree, the Trading Post etc
• Donate working equipment to the less fortunate or local schools

The following website, http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticleAsOnePage.aspx?id=103807, also lists facilities Australia wide and state specific for the disposal of computer equipment which you simply cannot get rid of in any other way.

By following these quick, simple tips, it is easy to Ensure That Your Old Computer Does Not Become E-Waste and add to the growing E-Waste phenomenon in Australia and worldwide.

Originally posted 2009-10-01 19:13:16.

According to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, the exportation of electronic waste to developing countries is illegal. 92 Countries around the world have ratified the Basel Convention, agreeing not to export their ewaste without the appropriate licenses in place.

However, a Greenpeace report states that after “inspections of 18 European seaports in 2005, as much as 47% of waste destined for export, including ewaste, were illegal.” The practise of exporting electronic waste therefore, is clearly continuing despite the regulations of the Basel Convention, and it’s not just the law that this illegal trade is damaging.

Recycling electronic waste in developing countries is “very damaging” to human health

A report by the Basel Action Network looked into the detrimental health effects of ewaste recycling in developing countries and found that the “operations found in China, India and Pakistan are extremely polluting and likely to be very damaging to human health”. The lack of health and safety regulations in these countries mean that “open burning of plastic waste, exposure to toxic solders, river dumping of acids and wide spread dumping” are to blame for the contamination of air, soil and water supplies that cause such horrific health issues.

China is the destination for 70% of electronic waste recycled each year

An article in ScienceDaily discusses the potential health risks posed by the vast amount of old computers, televisions, white goods and other electronic items that are exported to China. According to a study by MH Wong, “Chinese recycling methods significantly increase dioxin levels in women and their breast-fed infants”. The western world’s obsession with constantly updating our electronics, without a second thought for what happens to their old appliances, is seriously damaging innocent civilians in developing countries.

Dioxins are compounds that are closely linked to cancer and developmental defects – not exactly what you’d like to pass on to your off spring. The study compared the dioxin levels of women who lived around a recycling site, with those from an area with no electronic waste recycling sites near them and found that they had ”significantly higher levels of dioxins”.

The study concluded that the dioxin levels at recycling sites were at least 25 times higher than the tolerable daily limits, as set by the World Health Organisation.

How can we do more to ensure that our computers, televisions and other electronic appliances don’t end up being recycling in this way?

Wong’s study also found that there was “elevated concentrations of toxic metals in China’s ewaste recycling workshops”, due to their lack of health and safety and recycling compliance laws.  This makes it even more crucial to ensure that we do the best we can to ensure that our electronic waste is not recycled in countries where workers and civilians are subject to such damaging toxins.

At 1800Ewaste, we receive plenty of phone calls and emails asking us if we’d like to sell the electronic waste that we collect, but we answer with a very firm “NO” every time. We promise our customers that all of the electronics that we collect are recycled right here in Australia in ISO 14001 approved facilities. We never pass on or sell your electronic waste so you can be sure that it’s being disposed of in an environmentally sound way.

Call our office today on 1800 392 783 (Freetoll) for your obligation free quote.

Originally posted 2011-04-10 08:37:19.

According to the National Waste Policy, 16.8 million televisions and computer equipment reached their “end of life” in 2007/08- of these, a staggering 84% were sent to landfill and only 10% were recycled. As Australia prepares to switch off analogue signals by the end of 2013 and switch over to digital television, this number will increase dramatically as the country begins to send a staggering amount of hazardous, electronic waste to landfill.

Kerbside Recycling & Television Collections

Recent research indicates that 90% of Australian households have access to regular kerbside recycling of materials such as plastic, paper and glass with a large majority making use of these services. However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics states that electronic waste is growing three times more than the rate of general domestic waste suggesting that Australia is in need of a similar kerbside, electronic waste collection. With the digital switch imminent, this figure is set to rise even further.

Television is a constantly evolving technology and consumers are always hungry for more.

There is no denying that digital television will be a huge breakthrough for Australian technology; it will allow those in rural areas with poor analogue signal to connect to the world through the small screen and will improve viewing and programming quality for all Australians. As a country we are further behind many European countries, as well as America, who are already well into their transition from analogue to digital.

Viewers do have the option to add a set top box to their existing television sets however, many old analogue televisions will not have the appropriate connections and, with the introduction of newer technology such as High Definition TV, many will opt for an upgrade with built in digital and HD technology. But, what will happen to these discarded televisions?

Sending your Ewaste to landfill is a waste; TV’s, like computers and white goods, can be recycled.

By throwing televisions into skip bins we are not only wasting valuable landfill space, but we’re also throwing away valuable non-renewable materials. Televisions are 98% recyclable and contain materials such as zinc, nickel and copper. All of which, through a careful recycling process, can be recovered and reused.

After much pressure from the larger electronic manufacturers, the Australian Government has agreed to implement the Product Stewardship Scheme which passes the responsibility of recycling back to the manufacturer. Under this scheme, consumers will pay a small amount on purchase and will then be able to return their ewaste to the manufacturer once the item reaches its end of life.

Too little, too late?

This innovative new programme will hopefully see an increase in electronic waste recycling but won’t be fully operational until 2011. The scheme will also only provide funding for newly purchased items and does not take into account the millions of analogue televisions that are already being discarded. It’s also too late for the 61% of Australians that have already made the transition to digital television, whose new televisions may not be protected under the proposed scheme.

According to the 2006 Consensus, there were over 7.5 million private dwellings in Australia containing an average of 22 electrical items (including white goods) per household. Taking into account population and housing growth over the last four years, Ewaste predicts that there are enough electronic items in Australian households to fill 1.3 million semi trailers – lined up that makes 17,000 km of Ewaste. To put that into perspective, that’s enough ewaste to reach all the way from Sydney to London, England. This doesn’t even begin to take into account commercial ewaste from businesses; how many more computers, printers, monitors, fax machines, phone sets, scanners and photocopiers do you think they own? And, unless the Australian Government do something to solve our growing Ewaste problem soon, the vast majority is heading for the dump…

How you can recycle your analogue televisions and other electronic goods NOW.

In the mean time, 1800ewaste is Australia’s leading ewaste collection and recycling service and we’re passionate about diverting as much electronic equipment from landfill as possible. We believe in prolonging the lifespan of valuable materials by recycling all that we can. Currently 95-98%, by weight, of all the materials we collect is recycled for future use. Our service is professional, fast and reliable; we’ll come to you, collect your Ewaste and deliver it to the appropriate recycling facility. 1800ewaste only recycles with ISO14001 accredited Australian recycling facilities.

If you’re interested in having your Ewaste recycled please give us a call today on 1800 39 27 83.

Originally posted 2010-05-31 15:20:10.

New computers, printers, servers, hard drives etc, the IT industry is booming, and as a direct result so is Australia’s electronic waste (ewaste) pile.

The Total Environment Centre and Environment Victoria have prepared a detailed report on Australia’s ewaste situation, it is appropriately titled “Tipping Point: Australia’s E-waste Crisis. 2009, Update. It states…

• There will be 234 million items of ewaste in or on their way to Australian landfill by the end of 2009. That’s 41 million more items than was estimated would be the case in the 2008 version of the report.




• Without the introduction of an e‐waste recycling program the amount of e‐waste in Australian landfills will treble by 2020 and be close to 700 million items.

E-waste deposited in landfill is a toxic time bomb. Components such as lead, mercury and cadmium are just a few of the hazardous materials that cause adverse affects on humans and the environment when left to leach into ground in landfill.

IT recycling ensures end-of-life technology can be broken down and reused as secondary raw materials.

If toxic materials in landfill aren’t enough to convince you to recycle your used computers, printers, cameras, scanners etc then think about the world’s finite raw materials used to make your new computers. By recycling used IT equipment you can extend the life span of these precious resources. E-waste recycling facilities are now able to convert 95-98% of electronic equipment they receive into secondary raw materials for future use. Extending the life span of primary raw materials is of vital importance as the world’s supply is far from infinite, the table below illustrates that in some instances we have very little supply left.

Correct IT disposal is key, 1800Ewaste specialises in collection and recycling of electronic waste ie. all IT recycling, used computers or simply end-of-lease, printer recycling and much more.

1800ewaste is Australia’s leading ewaste collection and recycling service. We’re passionate about diverting as much electronic equipment from landfill as possible. We believe in prolonging the lifespan of valuable materials by recycling all that we can. Currently 95-98%, by weight, of all the materials we collect are recycled for future use. Our service is professional, fast and reliable, we’ll come to you, collect your ewaste and deliver it to the appropriate recycling facility.  1800ewaste only recycles with ISO14001 accredited Australian recycling facilities.

If you’re interested in having your ewaste recycled please give us a call today

1800EWASTE, 1800 392 783

Originally posted 2009-12-16 10:21:33.

As a developed country, Australia’s E-Waste statistics are surprisingly shocking.

E-Waste encompasses all old technology, cluttering your home, garages and landfill, either in a state of disrepair, obsolete, or simply something that has been replaced by its newer, shinier model.

This includes microwaves, mobile phones, computers and everything in between.

Unfortunately, as technology continues to improve, advance and be replaced at an exorbitant rate, the statistics continue to climb.

Computers are considered to be the most frequently upgraded electronic device and as such contribute greatly to the disastrous E-Waste statistics.

Within Australia, 500,000 computers were recycled in the year 2006.

While this may at first seem like a great figure, compare it to the 1.6 million simply thrown away, 1.8 million in storage and 5.3 million simply sitting unused on shelves and gathering dust. Add to this the estimated 2.4 million new computers Australians are estimated to buy each year and you get just a slight insight into the E-Waste pandemic.

Consider how much computer equipment you have within your home; personal computers, old and new, working and broken, printers, laptops, scanners, keyboards, speakers and the list goes on!

It is easy to demonstrate how such buildup could occur.

Considering electronics in general, Australian homes each contain an average of 22, including appliances, video game consoles, telephones and computers.

Again, consider your own home. Add up the amount of TV’s, VCR’s, DVD players, phones, fax machines, microwaves, phones, video game consoles and computers you have in use, and those you may just have sitting around unused.

When you decide to get rid of these things as they break or get replaced, how will you dispose of them?

Will you let your technology become another E-Waste statistic?

Nevertheless, perhaps the most significant electronic product currently and in the near future being discarded as E-Waste will be televisions with the onset of digital signals and removal of the analog signal.

Australia has already begun advertisements outlining the 2010-2011 deadline for our own signal to turn permanently digital, ensuring that starting even now and continuing for the next few years, the rate of analog TV sets becoming obsolete and turning into E-Waste will jump significantly.

This means that while many would have simply purchased digital set top boxes for their existing televisions, those who can afford it will most likely replaced their old television with a new digital one.

Lastly, it is important to note that electronic waste now encompasses the largest portion of waste disposed not just in Australia but worldwide.

Bearing these facts and statistics in mind, it is important to focus on the correct disposal of E-Waste in order to create the least impact on the environment.

Originally posted 2009-10-13 16:08:03.

At 1800Ewaste we tend to focus on the issues facing Australia and the ever growing, ever present issue of electronic waste recycling. However, we thought it was about time we to shift the focus, and the blame, by having a look at electronic waste and recycling statistics in the United States and the U.K…

Supersize my Television…the obsession with larger than life televisions is not a good omen for ewaste in the U.S.A

• US consumers bought 3.3 million HD televisions just in time for the Super Bowl in 2010. 
• Of the 2.25 million tonnes obsolete electronics in 2007, 82% were discarded…into landfill. By 2008, this figure had reached 3.16 million tonnes, but the recycling rate was still just 13.6%.
• About 304 million electrical items were thrown out from American households in 2005 – 2/3rds of them still worked.
• About 25 million televisions become obsolete every year.
•  68% of American’s have unwanted televisions or computers stored in their home. An estimated 235 million electrical items, including televisions, computers and monitors, are being stored by consumers, because there’s nothing else to do with them.
• 26.8 million Digital televisions were sold in the US in 2008; this figure was predicted to rise to 34.5 million in 2009.
• North American accounts for 83% of the 50” + television market
• Recycling just one million laptops would save enough energy to power more than 3, 500 homes in America for a year.
• 90% of Ewaste in the US is exported to China and Nigeria – this is not yet illegal due to the fact that America has yet to ratify the Basel Convention.
• Ewaste is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK.
• An estimated 1.2 million tonnes of electronic waste is produced each year in the UK
• In the last 5 years, 12.5 million computers have been thrown into UK landfills.
• 25% of Brits take their PC to the dump rather than a recycling facility.
• UK households produce 900, 000 tonnes of electronic waste each year from domestic appliances, such as washing machines, fridges and computers. 80% of all ewaste created, are actually household items.
• An estimated 2.5 million fridges and 5 million television sets are thrown away each year.
• The British only recycle 17% of their waste – some of their European counterparts recycle up to 60% of theirs.
• Ewaste is estimated to be growing at a rate of 80,000 tonnes a year.

God Save the Queen…and the fridge, the freezer, the washing machine, the computer, because they are all heading for landfill.

• Ewaste is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK.
• An estimated 1.2 million tonnes of electronic waste is produced each year in the UK
• In the last 5 years, 12.5 million computers have been thrown into UK landfills.
• 25% of Brits take their PC to the dump rather than a recycling facility.
• UK households produce 900, 000 tonnes of electronic waste each year from domestic appliances, such as washing machines, fridges and computers. 80% of all ewaste created, are actually household items.
• An estimated 2.5 million fridges and 5 million television sets are thrown away each year.
• The British only recycle 17% of their waste – some of their European counterparts recycle up to 60% of theirs.
• Ewaste is estimated to be growing at a rate of 80,000 tonnes a year.

Originally posted 2011-02-25 06:21:49.

Whatever your reasons for getting rid of old electronic goods, finding the right way to get rid of it can be tricky. You might be upgrading your old analogue television, or you might just want to get rid of a few things that you’ve found lying around the house. You may feel an obligation to recycle; you might just want to get rid of an old fridge in the easiest way possible. Whatever you need to get rid of, you have several options available…

Reselling your old, but still working, analogue televisions…

Electronic equipment can be expensive, so when you make that type of investment there’s always a hope that you’ll get a small amount of money back when you decide to upgrade. If an item is still in perfect working condition, it can be possible to resell, either online or by placing an ad in a local paper. The benefits of reselling your ewaste is clear – you’re prolonging their lifespan and keeping it out of landfill, you’re getting the item out of your hair and you’re hopefully making a little bit of money on the side.

However, selling your ewaste might prove more difficult than first thought. With such constantly evolving technology in today’s society, more and more people are upgrading their electronic goods regularly. This means that you might struggle to find someone that wants to take on your outdated technology, especially in an age where old analogue televisions are becoming obsolete.

There can also be security worries when selling items with memories; when we use online facilities such as banking, utilities, even Facebook, all of our personal information is stored somewhere on our hard drives. Before selling, you need to ensure that you have all hard drives and memory cards wiped by a computer expert, as merely deleting the data is not enough.

Refurbishing a broken laptop…

Sometimes all it takes to restore expensive electronic items back to working order takes just a little work and some technical computer knowledge. Many companies offer to take your ewaste off your hands – some for free, some pay you a small amount – and promise to restore and resell your broken ewaste. Some companies will donate them to charities, others will resell them for a profit, either way refurbishing is another good way of prolonging the life span of electronic waste and prevent it going into landfill.

Refurbishing, however, poses similar security issues as selling your electronic waste does – only this time you’re giving it to companies that have technical computer knowledge and would know exactly how to retrieve any information stored. And whilst, you’re electronic waste might not be going directly to landfill, there’s no guarantee that it won’t end up there. There’s also a chance that when companies pay you for your electronic waste, they are illegally exporting your ewaste overseas to developing countries.

Recycle your broken computers and working televisions the 1800Ewaste way.

At 1800Ewaste, we are dedicated to prolonging the life span of valuable materials through recycling as much electronic waste as possible. We currently divert 95-98% of all ewaste that we collect from landfill, meaning that we are saving renewable resources such as glass, plastics, aluminium, copper and brass from being wasted in landfill. It also means that the hazardous materials found in electronic waste, such as lead, cadmium and mercury are being disposed of in an environmentally friendly way, instead of polluting our water and soil streams.

Our recycling process breaks down all types of ewaste into pieces tiny pieces, physically destroying hard drives and memory cards so that all data is irretrievable. We can supply Certificates of Destruction and Recycling for those that are concerned about this and would like confirmation. Our service also includes the collection of your ewaste from your home or office, so there’ll be no lugging your large items down to the tip.

Recycling your electronic waste is the only way you can be certain that your ewaste won’t end up in landfill and that your data is destroyed. At 1800Ewaste, our service is simple, fast and environmentally sound. All of your Ewaste is destroyed within Australia in ISO14001 approved refineries. So, call us today on 1800 392 783 for your obligation free quote.

Originally posted 2010-11-04 08:52:29.