Greener Computer Afterlife

Newcastle Herald

Friday November 21, 2008

By MATTHEW KELLY

EVER wondered where all those old computers, printers, televisions and phones end up when they have passed their use-by date?

In a green afterlife, they are likely to end up at the e-waste recycling centre at North Wyong, where they will be stripped down to their core components.

About 35 to 40 tonnes of e-waste from NSW and ACT is processed at the Thiess Services centre each month, a figure which has grown substantially over the past year.

The waste arrives at the centre, one of four in Australia, mostly from council pick-up days and corporate contracts.

"It's increasing rapidly," Thiess e-recycling production manager Brett Bidwell said.

"We are taking two or three calls a week from companies who are interested in our service."

Using an assortment of power tools and a old-fashioned hammer, the centre's five full-time employees extract and separate wire and cable, printed circuit boards, glass and metal chassis.

The components are sent to recycling plants in Australia and overseas for further processing.

"The idea is to keep as much of the raw resource in Australia as possible," Mr Bidwell said.

Despite the growth in recycling over the past 18 months, it is estimated about 80 per cent of e-waste in Australia still goes directly into landfill.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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