Report: Plugging Australia’s e-waste Gap
Analysing the gaps in understanding and managing Australia’s e-waste crisis
There’s a significant knowledge gap between the reality of Australia’s e-waste crisis and the role consumers and businesses are playing to manage it.
So we’ve quantified that gap by analysing both the top 200 ASX company’s pledges and actions with regard to their e-waste, and the public’s understanding of the crisis.
Download the report
Download the complete report to learn more about these highlights (and low lights) from our analysis of the latest sustainability reports from the ASX Top 200 corporates:
- 19% of our ASX Top 200 companies mention e-waste in their most recent sustainability reports
- 44% report on waste streams but a vast majority failed to include e-waste
- Of the 38 companies that do mention e-waste, only 26% provided e-waste stats and 13% reported the amount of e-waste diverted from landfill
- Finance and energy are two industries that significantly lag in their acknowledgment and management of e-waste
- Only one company out of the ASX 200 discusses the relationship between Scope 3 emissions and e-waste
- Only 43% mention supporting a circular economy and within that, only 12% actually discuss the relationship between e-waste disposal and enriching the circular economy
With regard to the general public, we discovered that we are largely aware of our waste habits, but haven’t grasped the magnitude of the e-waste crisis:
- 17% of Australians are not aware that e-waste is a problem
- 35% don't know they can recycle their e-waste
- 63% are not aware that e-waste is often dumped in developing countries
The onus falls on us all.
On consumers to understand end-of-life considerations and seek our ethical disposal services
On business to have an e-waste strategy that looks at repurposing, reuse and recycling in the most sustainable way – not just the cheapest.
And on Governments to set a legislative framework that enables world-class recycling practices that increase accountability on business and individuals to do the right thing...
If our collective e-waste mentality and habits don’t change, then Australia will continue to be one of the largest producers of e-waste globally, leading to devastating environmental, economic, social and health outcomes