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E-Waste Think Tank

The Canberra Environment and Sustainability Resource Centre (CESRC), with the support of the Australian National University (ANU) and the ACT Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, organised an E-Waste Think Tank in May 2008 to help establish a more strategic response to the growing problem of E-Waste in Australia. The primary aims of the event were to:

· Articulate the best realistic future for a sustainable E-Industry

· Understand issues, options and challenges for sustainable E-Industry

· Identify actions needed by different sectors

· Build partnerships among stakeholders

The event was well attended and representatives from the following organisations, institutions and departments were present:

ACT Government

ANUgreen

Australian Industry Group (AiG)

Australian Information Industry Assoc. (AIIA)

Australian Mobile Telecommunications Assoc. (AMTA)

The Australian National University (ANU)

Charity Computers

Clean Up Australia

Consumer Electronics Suppliers Assoc. (CESA)

Commission for Sustainability and the Environment Office

Dell Computers

Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA)

Dick Smith Electronics Holdings

Kyocera

MRI

SEE-Change

Surveyor Resources

Theiss Services

The event was facilitated by Dr Su Wild-River from ANUgreen who began the day with a future search process that enabled participants to work together to identify a positive, realistic future for the E-Industry. The outcome of this was:

o Design for longevity, reusability and recyclability

o Cradle-to-cradle product cycles and closed loop systems

o IT service provision and remote data storage/‘Cloud Computing’

Participants then delivered presentations in the sectors of Manufacturing and Marketing and Use, Reuse and Recycling, and Responses and Policy Actions. The issues, options and challenges for sustainability in these sectors were explored using force field analysis technique. Stakeholders then voted to identify priorities. The most important being:

· The Australian Government to design and implement a National framework to sustainably m E-Waste

· Education of consumers and users of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE)

Other related priorities identified were:

o Extended warrantees and guarantees

o The introduction of full-take-back programs and/or Extender Producer Responsibility (EPR)

o Research and development (R&D) in reprocessing, reuse and recycling

Partnerships were built between representatives throughout the day and the consensus was reached that Government leadership is now needed to develop a nationwide strategy to sustainably manage E-Waste. The Canberra Environment and Sustainability Resource Centre held an e-waste think tank on 21st May 2008. The event was attended by invited business, government and industry representatives, and outcomes will provide the initial thinking towards a model of sustainable e-waste disposal.

The full report from the Think Tank is now available at the link below.

E-Waste Think Tank Review and Synthesis

Presentations from participants delivered on the day are available here:

Overview of Think Tank (Dr Su Wild-River)
Australian Industry Group (Mark Amos)
Australian Information Industry Association (Rhett Somers)
Charity Computers (Pastor David Campbell)
Dell Computers (Catherine Dickson)
Waste(d) Livelihoods (Dr Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt)

This event was jointly sponsored by the Canberra Environment and Sustainability Resource Centre and ANUgreen and was supported by the office of the ACT Commissioner for Environment and Sustainability.

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