‘Built-in obsolescence’ creates 500,000-tonne e-waste problem
As technology accelerates, so too does Australia’s electronic waste problem.
“With generative AI [artificial intelligence], there’s a lot of waste and new waste streams coming from data centres,” explains Ross Thompson, CEO of Greenbox.
“We live in a very consumer-driven environment at the moment, and manufacturers are typically looking to churn out the next model of the iPhone or model of laptop or PC or whatever that might be.”
Every year, Greenbox processes millions of discarded computers and other e-waste from large companies, government departments and agencies.
“The best form of e-waste recycling is actually reuse,” Mr Thompson says.
“We typically try and extract as much value out of the asset before it needs to be recycled.”
Greenbox CEO Ross Thompson (at right) says the e-waste problem could be solved. (ABC News: John Gunn)
The company is just one of a growing number of businesses that divert e-waste from landfill.
“If we absolutely can’t refurbish the asset and resell it into our global networks that we have around the world, then we’ll recycle the asset.
“The rare earth metals and the materials … will then go back into the circular economy and be used in things like solar panels and other tech,” Mr Thompson says.
Australia’s e-waste almost triple global average
Australia generates about 500,000 tonnes of e-waste annually, according to the latest available data from the federal government’s national waste report.
That means each Australian produces about 20kg of e-waste a year, compared with the global average of 7kg.
In 2022, only about half of all e-waste was recycled and just 35 per cent of valuable materials it contains were recovered.
The amount of waste is projected to rise nearly 30 per cent by 2030 to 657,000 tonnes.
E-waste is banned from landfill in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
It’s supposed to be disposed of at special drop-off points, but it often ends up in kerbside rubbish collection, resulting in fires and costly clean-up bills.
Just last month, a laptop that was thrown into a household kerbside rubbish bin in Melbourne’s inner western municipality of Maribyrnong caused a fire in a rubbish truck when its battery exploded.
Maribyrnong Council is urging people to dispose of e-waste at designated drop-off points after a laptop battery in kerbside rubbish collection caused a fire last month. (Supplied)
Systems upgrades a major e-waste issue
Microsoft’s decision to end support for its Windows 10 operating system on an estimated 240 million PCs across the globe is set to worsen the e-waste problem.
Cybersecurity expert from PwC Robert Di Pierto said it will leave older models that are incompatible with Windows 11 effectively obsolete.
“What we’re seeing later this year with Microsoft is a little unprecedented,” Mr Di Pierto says.
“There will be a lot of devices that are not able to run that new version.
“I do think e-waste is going to be a significant issue later in the year because we’ve never had a situation like this with such a common and widespread used piece of software such as Microsoft Windows,” he says.
There are concerns millions of computers and laptops could end up in landfill when Microsoft stops providing operational support for its Windows 10 operating system in October. (ABC News: John Gunn)
Microsoft Australia is encouraging users who cannot upgrade their computers to Windows 11 to recycle the devices through its free mail-back service (if they are Microsoft-branded products) or through other providers.
Ross Thompson is bracing himself for a flood of old PCs and laptops at his facilities.
“There are some reports that suggest that in Australia alone, there are more than 6 million assets that will be needing to transfer from Windows 10 to Windows 11 before the deadline of October.
“That could equate to 12 million kilograms of PCs and assets going into landfill.”
Many devices left out of industry recycling scheme
Australia has a mandatory industry-funded scheme for recycling e-waste called the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS), which as the name suggests covers TVs and computer and product accessories.
The NTCRS reports the scheme collects and recycles around 70,000 tonnes of e-waste per year.
But the peak body for recyclers, the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR), said the NTCRS scheme is far from perfect and there is not enough transparency about its outcomes.
It is calling for the producers of all types of electronic waste to be made responsible for the waste they create.
“We are suffering under the burden of mismanaged e-waste, and we need producers [of electronic products] to take responsibility for that material, and we need national action,” ACOR CEO Suzanne Toumbourou says.
A single data centre contains hundreds of tonnes of electronic components that are replaced every few years. (Supplied: Google)
In a statement, a spokesperson from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said the Australian government was working with states, territories and industry to ensure solar panels and other e-waste were diverted from landfill, for reuse or recycling.
The spokesperson also pointed to a meeting of Australian environment ministers in December which noted the need for urgent reforms to product stewardship arrangements for batteries.
Ms Toumbourou welcomes those commitments but says it must be backed up by legislation and tough regulation.
“The lives of the workers in both the waste and recycling sectors are at risk from the presence of batteries and consumer electronics in conventional bins.
“These things catch fire, they release toxic gasses, they put the lives of our workers at risk, and they put major waste and recycling infrastructure at risk.
“It is incredibly urgent and we need to act before actually lose a life in Australia due to this unmanaged issue, unregulated issue.”
There are also calls for Australia to broaden its Right to Repair laws which currently only apply to cars, vans and utes.
Green Collect co-founder Darren Andrews says some electronic brands make it hard to repair items for reuse. (ABC News: Darryl Torpy )
Melbourne social enterprise Green Collect collects e-waste disposed of by households at council drop-off points.
In 2024, it collected 17.5 tonnes of electrical items, with 50 per cent of those going on to be reused.
It’s a statistic that frustrates co-founder Darren Andrews, who says consumers should have a right to repair electronic devices.
“There is almost a built-in obsolescence,” he laments.
“Within a circular economy, things need to be designed so much better around its repairability, that components are able to be replaced, et cetera.
“Some brands have actually made it very difficult to repair and replace parts, and that’s a key component for longevity and making sure those resources stay in circulation.”
Greenbox CEO Ross Thompson says getting on top of the global e-waste problem makes economic and environmental sense if Australia is to meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
“You actually reduce your impact on the environment by using a refurbished asset by up to 90 per cent from a carbon emission perspective,” Mr Thompson explains.
“From a water usage perspective, to manufacture one iPhone, to put into perspective, uses between 12,000 and 15,000 litres of water.
“You reduce that by 99 per cent if you give the asset another lease of life,” he says.
He believes e-waste is a problem that could be solved.
“There’s a lot that has happened from an Australian perspective that is considered best practice, but we could always do more because this e-waste problem is not going to be going away anytime soon.”
