On April 17th 2021, we hosted our largest ever CR E-Day at the Ellerslie Events Centre carpark in central Auckland.
The Ellerslie event was supported by the Ellerslie Residents Association and Ōrākei Local Board, allowing all items to be FREE for drop-off for members of the public.
At Ellerslie, we beat all other CR E-Day records, with a whopping 16,163kg of e-waste collected which was made up of more than 900 individual items. This included 144 printers, 129 small home appliances, 56 flat screen TVs and more than 30 large whiteware appliances.
There is no New Zealand-based framework or legislation as to how Kiwis dispose of their unwanted e-waste, and the success of our Ellerslie event showcases how Kiwis are looking to do the right thing when it comes to disposing of their old tech.
As always we used the collection event to fundraise for Variety – The Children’s Charity. All charity donations made by the public during the day will be matched by Computer Recycling. We're pleased to be able to donate more than $1000 to Variety thanks to the event.
We are working with neighbourhood group to facilitate over 30 of these collection days throughout Tamaki Makaurau. All e-waste collected from the events is brought back to Computer Recycling’s site in Onehunga. From there, the waste is sorted, graded, and split into two categories: reuse or recycling.
Reuse: any items that still may have a second life. Computer Recycling’s team of technicians will delete data left on the device and remove any markings. The items will then be refurbished to a usable condition and sold back into the community.
Recycle: items that can no longer be re-used are dismantled by recycling technicians. The components are separated and graded as either general scrap metals or e-scrap. All e-scrap is exported under Environmental Protection Agency permits to facilities in Asia and Europe to be return into base elements to be used again.
Currently, the average Kiwi produces more than 20 kilograms of e-waste per year - one of the highest per capita amounts globally - and New Zealand is the only country in the OECD without a national e-waste scheme. Of the 80,000 tonnes of e-waste created each year, it is estimated less than 2 per cent of the total is recycled.
