The World Today - New e-waste recycling scheme flagged

FELICITY OGILVIE: Well Peter, the scheme won't start for at least six months because although the ministers decided today that Australia will get a national electronic recycling scheme, they need to work out the details and they'll do that at the November meeting.

But basically what the scheme will mean for Australians is that there will be now somewhere that they can send their old TVs and their old electronic equipment like computers. Because at the moment you can't just put it out in curb-side recycling because that kind of equipment can't be put out for curb-side recycling, so most of it is ending up as landfill.

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PETER CAVE: Well what have those environment groups been saying about what's been announced?

FELICITY OGILVIE: They are absolutely delighted, especially with the container deposit scheme. They say that they've been pushing for more than a decade to get this program across the nation and they think that it should be adopted and spread out nationally.

And they say that if the container deposit scheme goes ahead and also if this electronic scheme, recycling computers and TVs and other electronic equipment, they believe that up to a million tonnes of landfill a year could be saved in Australia. So instead of going into landfill that these waste items would be recycled instead.

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