Plan B Forum

From Tuesday 15 May 2012, Canberrans will be able to dispose of their old or unwanted television and computer products for free under the new National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme. The ACT is the first jurisdiction ready to implement the new scheme.

People can drop off their old or unwanted televisions and computers at the Mugga Lane and Mitchell Transfer Stations which are open from 7.30 am to 5 pm, seven days a week.

It is likely the Mugga Lane and Mitchell Transfer Stations will be very busy in the first few weeks of the new scheme. The ACT Government encourages residents to consider holding their items for a while longer to avoid queues, especially on weekends. The free e-waste recycling service is a permanent arrangement and residents will be able to access the scheme on an ongoing basis.

For more information visit www.tams.act.gov.au

Seattle-based Basel Action Network (BAN), an organization pushing for the United States to ratify the Basel Convention on international hazardous waste shipment, estimates that at least one in four households will get rid of an old TV this year following the digital transition. That could come out to some 28 million cathode ray tubes -- each containing roughly 5 pounds of lead on average, depending on the screen size -- ending up in the waste stream.

Much of this waste will be recycled domestically. But Sarah Westervelt, a BAN official, said some 80 percent will actually be shipped abroad for processing in China and Africa, in violation of provisions of the Basel treaty that ban the shipment of toxic waste from the rich countries to poor ones.

"Exports are not quantified because the U.S. has not ratified the Basel Convention, and therefore we are not controlling or monitoring our exports," Westervelt said.

BAN has traced a lot of the electronic waste from the United States -- including old desktop computers, laptops, printers, televisions and more -- to a rough processing facility in Guiyu, China, and has produced documentaries on the unfortunate community there. Activists say residents there suffer some of the highest dioxin and lead poisoning in the world as they work through the e-waste in an uncontrolled and highly unsafe manner.

City-organized recycling events provide some of the greatest volumes of e-waste exports, BAN says, as municipal governments facing budget constraints cannot pay for processing and seek out vendors willing to collect the material for free.

"The only folks who are able to do this for free, from everything that we have learned over eight years of doing this work, are people who are exporting it," said Westervelt. "Otherwise, you end up with mercury and leaded glass and materials that you have to pay downstream vendors to manage responsibly."

Gob wrote:"...

Australia has ratified the Basel Convention.

U.S. coal exports to China could more than double to over 12 million tonnes in 2012 thanks to depressed freight rates and a fall in domestic demand in the United States, the chief of top U.S. coal exporter Xcoal Energy & Resources said.

The expected increase in coal shipments could further push down coal prices in Asia where a supply glut following a deluge from the United States and Colombia has forced prices to slump recently.

Australian Newcastle-grade coal has dropped $10 a tonne since end-February, the Indonesian coal reference price is down to its lowest in 16 months and South African coal has shed $5.

"Exports to China could reach over 12 million tonnes this year based on the annualized numbers," Chief Executive Ernie Thrasher told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

Scooter wrote:Exports of coal and exports of toxic waste are not even close to being within the same realm of discussion.

dales wrote:We've had this for years in the SF Bay Area.

Scooter wrote:The same can be said of athletic shoes. Was there a point to your question?

Joe Guy wrote: If there is no recycling fee in Australia for buying electronics, they are getting a much better deal.