Australia – An electronics industry e-waste lobby that campaigned for national e-waste recycling and product stewardship legislation in Australia, is now set to transition itself into an operational entity to recycle televisions and computers.
Formed by television and computer manufacturers in 2004, Product Stewardship Australia (PSA) sought to lobby the government for the creation of a national scheme for the handling of e-waste. After a seven-year fight by the PSA, the government passed legislation for a national television and computer recycling scheme in June 2011, with a fully fledged scheme set to be phased in from 2012.
PSA says in a statement that as the legislative process nears completion, it would look to transition itself from a lobby to an operational Product Steward Organisation for the handling of e-waste. Stuart Clark, chairman of PSA, says that he is proud of the lobby’s achievements. ‘Over seven years, PSA has been at the forefront of driving some of the most significant environmental policy reform in Australia.’ To evaluate and recommend best practices for ewaste recycling in Australia, PSA has released the Interim Industry Standard (IIS).
It follows consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, to manage the risks associated with collection, transport and processing of end-of-life TVs and computer equipment.
Recyclers and logistics solutions companies will need to obtain and maintain certification to the Interim Industry Standard, as well as having an Environmental Management System certified to ISO14001. Manufacturers that are currently part of the PSA include Acer, Apple, Canon, Dell, Epson, Fuji, HP, IBM, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp and Sony.
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