The United Nations University (UNU) have released the Global E-Waste Monitor 2014 report. It is estimated that less than one sixth of the e-waste generated globally was diverted from landfills and either recycled or reused.

New Zealand generates 19kg per capita giving a national total of 86,000 tonnes.  Australia, with which we have close economic ties and similarities in culture, generates 20kg per capita, however they have legislation in place for mandatory e-waste recycling whereas New Zealand does not.

Given that e-waste contains toxic material and recoverable resources there is a lot of work required to make electrical and electronics technology sustainable.

The full, high resolution report can be downloaded from the UNU.

There are a couple of organisations here in Christchurch that I would like to use as source of appliances for refurbishment.  They both insist that they cannot part with the appliances unless the power cords are cut off.  Health and safety issues they declare.  But I am a registered electrical technician I tell them.  I am always receiving appliances that may be of dubious electrical safety.  Nope thems the rules they say.

And they are right.  It is not a case of overzealous staff being overly officious or paranoid. The rules on electrical safety and the sale (or the giving away) of electrical appliances is quite quite clear.  The regulations state that in order to sell (or give away) the appliance it must be prevented from being plugged into the mains unless it has been tested to AS/NZ3760.

A staff member at the Ministry of Economic Development (who are in charge of energy safety) was helpful and sympathetic.  It was suggested a legal waiver could be signed to get around the issue but I thought that that was a bit odd.  It sounds like it has given them the idea of changing the regulation when the are next up for review in order to solve this dilemma.

Once the power cord is cut off an appliance the cost of refurbishment is increased.  What may have been a simple repair job turns into real hassle because fitting a new power cord is often really fiddly.  So unless the regulations change, or I can get a legal waiver from my sources it looks like I may have a bit less cash flow and the world will have a bigger pile of e-waste!

Here in Christchurch  I often see televisions and other appliances dumped by the side of the road.  Sometimes they are carefully placed outside a private residences.  They are also put next to the clothing recycling bins operated by charities.  I will write more about the televisions at a later date but I often see those cheap column oil heaters as a discarded item. Well ok, I have twice seen them on the roadside in the last six months!

I have looked at a few of these heaters and the common fault is the castors falling apart.  Also the support plates for the castors are made of such thin metal that and of a poor design that they bend really easily.

Replacing the castors is a really easy job.  They can simply be unbolted and replaced with new ones.  So why are the owners not fixing them or getting someone handy with a spanner to do it?  Surely that is a much easier option than discarding the faulty heater, earning  money to buy a new one, finding your way a shop that sells them, taking it home, and then unwrapping and assembling it?

And I thought we were scrimping and saving because of this so-called economic recession.