Government Toxic TV Debacle
Tuesday, 23 November 2010 18:57
The Great Digital Switch Dump Report (November 2010)
Total Environment Centre (TEC) has released a devastating report which calls for the Federal Government to urgently stop millions of toxic televisions polluting Australia as a result of the Digital Switchover.
”Hundreds of thousands of televisions have already been dumped as a direct result of the Digital Switchover because no system has been put in place for recycling old analogue sets and a new recycling scheme will arrive too late for most of the switchover,” said TEC’s Senior Campaigner Jane Castle.
“Furthermore the Digital Taskforce set to monitor the situation is guilty of ‘green-washing’ to understate the problem by counting televisions stored, sold on, or given to charity as ‘recycled’.”
Castle said that “without Government action, even conservative estimates indicate millions more will be dumped on nature strips, in back lanes and eventually in landfill.”
The Great Digital Switch Dump Report shows that over 7 million televisions will be dumped by 2014, even with the introduction of the National Television Recycling Scheme. However, as many analogue televisions are currently being stored, sold, or given to charities there is still time to save up to 11 million televisions from being dumped.
Each cathode ray tube television has 3.5 kilos of lead, a heavy metal which bio-accumulates in humans, animals and plants and causes brain damage.
“The Federal Government must fast-track the National Television Recycling Scheme and immediately deliver collection and recycling infrastructure to Australia’s population centres. The recent announcement by Stephen Conroy and Tony Burke about free television recycling for Broken Hill and regional South Australia is too little too late.”
Ms. Castle also noted that “television manufacturers have stepped up and recyclers are itching to get their hands on this potentially lucrative resource, so it’s time for the Federal Government to get serious, before it’s too late."
“Environment Ministers have been trying to reduce e-waste while Stephen Conroy’s Digital Switchover has been dead-set on making more.”
“It’s hard to fathom why Conroy has been utterly deaf to the pleas of TV manufacturers, recyclers and the community,” said Ms. Castle.
