The goal of the program is to collect and save waste electronics from going to landfill. A network of more than 500 approved collection points across the province allows Ontarians to bring their used, broken or unwanted electronic equipment for responsible reuse or recycling.
The program has further added to the list of accepted electronic waste with the result that Ontarians can now recycle 44 electronic devices, such as MP3 players, cameras, telephones, VCR & DVD players and recorders, radios, and more.
For the year starting April 1, 2010, OES plans to collect over 46,000 tonnes of unwanted electronics – that’s enough to fill over 3,100 dump trucks. The year five goal is nearly 85,000 tonnes of waste electronics.
In addition, the program recovers valuable resources such as precious and base metals. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic medals contain recycled metal from electronic waste.
The electronic equipment recycling program is funded by fees paid to OES by manufacturers and importers of electronics in Ontario. Funds are used exclusively to pay for collection, transportation, consolidation, and processing of waste electronics and research and consumer education programs to encourage greater electronic equipment recycling.
Carol Hochu, executive director of OES, said: “Nearly four in five Ontario households (78%) have at least one electronic product that is not working or not being used. This program makes recycling easier and encourages consumers and businesses to do what they can to help.
”The reason to participate is simple – it helps keep hazardous electronic equipment out of landfill, which leads to a greener, healthier environment.”
