Free computer recycling event 'eDay' kicks off this weekend

November 1st
[Press release from Tasman District Council]

Tasman residents can dispose of their old PCs, computer peripherals and mobile phones at eDay this coming Saturday. eDay is being held at over 50 drop-off locations throughout New Zealand, including Lower Moutere, and is expected to divert 1,000 tonnes of electronic waste (e-waste) from landfills.

The community drive-through event is an opportunity for households, schools, community groups and small businesses to clear out their garages and cupboards of computer equipment and old mobile phones, to be recycled for free. Last year's eDay in Nelson and Tasman diverted 52 tonnes of e-waste from local landfills, with over 980 cars dropping off unwanted computer equipment.

This year, the local event is being held at K & F McLean, 88 Hursthouse Street, Lower Moutere between 9am and 3pm on Saturday 6th November.

Local organiser, Mary Curnow of Nelson Environment Centre, said eDay is giving locals the chance to dispose of their e-waste in an environmentally sound way.

"Check out your garage, work room and cupboards and see if you've got old bits of computers, printers, faxes and other computer equipment that you'd like to get rid of but are not sure how to. Bringing it along to eDay ensures it won't simply be chucked into landfill but will be reused or recycled responsibly and with due care and respect for the wider environment."

This year eDay organisers are encouraging communities to work together to collect their neighbourhood e-waste. Collecting it in one place and taking one trip to the drop-off locations saves time and reduces vehicle emissions.

The Government estimates that there are 80,000 tonnes of electronic waste disposed of into landfills in New Zealand per year. eDay national organiser, Laurence Zwimpfer of the eDay New Zealand Trust, said eDay is aimed at raising awareness about the dangers of dumping e-waste in landfills and the benefits of recycling computer equipment.

"With that many computers being sent to landfill, and the options to dispose of them very limited, it is important that equipment is recycled wherever possible. Landfilling e-waste is a danger to our environment due to its toxic nature and does not allow for the recovery and reuse of precious material such as gold," said Mr Zwimpfer.

Since eDay's inception in 2007, approximately 40,000 cars have dropped off 196,000 items of computer and computer-related waste for safe recycling, diverting 2,337 tonnes of e-waste from landfills. Despite these results, as a long term solution, eDay New Zealand advocates for compulsory product stewardship and still says eDay is just an interim measure until this is in place.

Material that can be disposed of at eDay 2010 includes all computer-related equipment, game consoles, fax machines and digital cameras. The Trust also accepts mobile phones although this year is encouraging people to donate them to Starship's Mobile Phone Recycling Appeal. Other electronic equipment including televisions will not be accepted.

eDay New Zealand Trust advises people to wipe all data from computer hard drives as well as removable media such as floppy disks and PC cards before handing them over for recycling. For more details visit www.eday.org.nz Volunteers wishing to help out at eDay are invited to sign-up online at the eDay website or contact Mary Curnow on or

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