Has E-waste recycling plan fizzled out?

The manager of one of New Zealand's largest e-waste firms, Computer Recycling describes the amount of electric goods being thrown away as "an epidemic". Patrick Moynahan has started a petition calling for a government-led national strategy to make it compulsory to recycle e-waste. A 2019 Massey University report concluded 98 percent of e-waste from households in Whangarei went to landfill, that e-waste volume is growing up to three times faster than any other kind of waste and that New Zealand relies on voluntary schemes to manage the estimated ninety-eight thousand tonnes of e-waste generated in the country annually. The government ring-fenced funding from the Waste Minimisation Fund last May for an e-waste project to reuse surplus electronic equipment from businesses and government organisations, and efforts for a national strategy by the previous government fizzled out. Kathryn Ryan is joined by Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage and Patrick Moynahan.