THROWAWAY TRUMPS REPAIR

Saturday, 25 July 2009 01:13

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The closure last month of The Electronic Technician's Institute of Australia (TETIA) and the shut-down at the end of the year of Television Electronic Services Association (TESA), signals a throw-away society out of step with environmental imperatives.

With almost 16 million electronic items going to landfill each year, environment ministers are currently discussing options for e-waste recycling, but a recycling scheme might not start until late into 2010 or 2011.

“State and federal governments have utterly failed to drive sustainable consumption,” said Jane Castle, Senior Campaigner at TEC. “We’re supposed to be in an environmental crisis, yet the throw-away society is becoming even more rapacious. Governments need to build a green economy with incentives for remanufacturing, not unsustainable consumption.”

TETIA, founded in 1956, provided professional technical support for electronics technicians and engineers in each State. TESA NSW (the last remaining branch) which was formed in 1962, and supports electronics businesses involved in repair, rentals, sales or the supply of electronic parts, has decided to cease operating at the end of 2009.

“Australia needs to rebuild a vibrant repair industry that increases the life cycle
of products. Remanufacturing and reuse can help stop climate change, conserve non-renewable resources and reduce pressure on landfills.”

“The environmental costs of ‘buy-dump-buy’ should be included in the price of new products and the environmental benefits of repair and remanufacturing recognised. Currently it’s the other way around: extending the lives of products is artificially expensive, and drives consumers back to the mall rather than to the local repairer.”

“Manufacturers need incentives to design products for longevity, not for premature obsolescence. Implementing extended producer responsibility needs rapid implementation to ensure that manufacturers are responsible for the collection and recycling of the products they design and sell.”