The City of Greater Bendigo is reminding residents that as of today Monday July 1, 2019 all e-waste is banned from landfill sites and kerbside bins throughout Victoria.
E-waste is any item with a plug, battery or cord that is no longer working or wanted. It includes computers, mobile phones, microwaves, printers, televisions, heaters, gaming consoles, battery operated toys, kitchen appliances and handheld tools etc. From 1 July, these types of things can no longer be placed in kerbside bins and instead must go to a designated e-waste drop-off point.
City of Greater Bendigo Resource Recovery and Education Manager Brooke Pearce said the City of Greater Bendigo is holding a free E-waste Disposal Day from 10am to 3pm on Sunday July 7, 2019 at the Queen Elizabeth Oval Carpark, off View Street.
"The free E-Waste Disposal Day provides local residents with an opportunity to take their unwanted e-waste items to a central Bendigo location for disposal," Ms Pearce said.
"The e-waste to landfill ban has been introduced by the Victorian Government in an effort to recover more of the valuable materials left inside e-waste that can be safely recovered and reused. It will also help reduce the environmental damage caused by the disposal of old electronic items such as TVs, phones and laptops into landfill sites.
"As of July 1 residents now must take all their unwanted e-waste to one of the City's transfer stations located in Heathcote, Strathfieldsaye or Goornong or the Eaglehawk Recycle Shop located at the entrance to Eaglehawk Landfill.
"E-waste is growing three times faster than general municipal waste in Australia, due to increased technology trends, reduced product lifespan and consumer demand for new products. It contains valuable materials that we can recover and reuse, and hazardous materials, which can harm the environment and human health.
"Recovering this resource helps alleviate the strain put on the environment by stopping hazardous elements leaching into the ground when dumped in landfill.
"It's an important community issue as the more electronic goods people buy the more e-waste there will be in the future so we need to be resourceful and smart disposing of old electronic items. "
