Fastest-growing E-waste includes your old TVs and batteries

This old battery was one of the many items of e-waste found during a clean-up event at Foxton Beach last month. Photo / Robbie Stillwell

A proposal presented to Horowhenua District Council earlier this year, outlining ways to encourage residents in their choices regards disposing of electronic waste, has come to fruition this month.

As of Monday November 1, the council began subsidising the disposal of e-waste at a reduced fee or even for free at both the Foxton and Shannon waste transfer stations.

Televisions have been reduced from $40 to $20 and some items are now free to recycle, for example, household batteries, car batteries, energy-saving light bulbs, cell phones, computer desktops and servers.

According to the council's media release, e-waste is the fastest-growing type of waste in the world and in New Zealand, we generate around 80,000 tonnes per year, with only 2 per cent being recycled.

Robbie Stillwell, HDC's waste minimisation officer, said the aim of the subsidy was to make the e-waste recycling service more affordable as well as to reduce the dumping of electronic waste in Horowhenua.

An exploding battery set this Horowhenua District Council rubbish truck on fire last month. Photo / Robbie Stillwell

During the clean-up event at Foxton Beach at the end of October a number of items of e-waste were picked up, including a hazardous car battery.

"E-waste can be pretty dangerous too, we recently had a rubbish truck set on fire from an old battery that exploded in the back," Stillwell said.

Disposal of increased e-waste will cost the council $2544 every three months on top of the annual subsidy of $5000 for the recycling fees.

Stillwell is hopeful that by making the cost of disposal more affordable, the community will get behind it and start recycling their old electronics the right way.

Unwanted batteries can be dropped off at any waste transfer station in the area for free.

The council-run ones at Foxton and Shannon will take everything else, for free or with a subsidised fee to help dispose of these items safely with less environmental impact.

• Visit https://horowhenua.govt.nz/ewasterecycling for more information on prices, what you can recycle and where.