Te Awamutu embraces e-waste recycling

The Urban Miners successful collection event held in Te Awamutu last week. Photo / Supplirf

More than 70 vehicles passed through the Waipā e-waste recyclers Urban Miners collection event on Sunday, despite the wet weather.

This is a substantial increase in past events held in Te Awamutu, and a positive sign that locals are keen to recycle their e-waste responsibly.

Chris Johnson, Rotary Urban Miners Te Awamutu collection coordinator, said “Thanks to our volunteer staff, we had over 70 cars through in the 2-hour collection period. This excellent collection in unpleasant weather underlines the increasing commitment of Te Awamutu region residents to the recycling of e-waste and an understanding that these products do not belong in a landfill.”

Urban Miners, a not-for-profit organisation, started two years ago with the aim of recovering and recycling as many materials as possible from e-waste. It is run entirely by volunteers and any surplus is returned to the community by way of reduced fees.

Thanks to growing support for the scheme from the Waipā community, Urban Miners have been able to make substantial reductions to their recycling fees for 2023. Several high-volume items, including laptops, microwave ovens and small household appliances, now cost $2 or $5 to recycle.

Their success is starting to have tangible benefits for the Waipā community, with 15 tonnes of e-waste successfully diverted from landfill in 2021-2022, and more than 19 tonnes diverted in 2022-2023 to date and still counting.

The next Urban Miners e-waste collection in Te Awamutu will be on Sunday, March 5 from 9 to 11am outside the Te Awamutu Rugby Sports and Recreation Club.

Urban Miners latest price list is at https://www.urbanminers.nz or on their Facebook page.