Wagner Nicky: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Wagner Nicky: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:668;Page:15246] 
8. 
NICKY WAGNER (National) 
 to the  
Minister for the Environment 
: How much electronic waste was collected last Saturday with the eDay initiative and what longer-term plan does the Government have for improving recycling of electronic waste? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment) 
: 
 Last Saturday eDay funded by the Government was very successful. It collected a record 900 tonnes or 77000 items of electronic waste at 53 drop-off points around the country. I particularly acknowledge the thousands of volunteers around New Zealand who assisted with this massive recycling effort. The Government wants to progress from eDay to a year-round culture of recycling electronic waste. We are investing in a programme next year to establish in partnership with community recycling facilities 20 permanent recycling points as well as recycling facilities in Auckland Wellington and Christchurch. 
Nicky Wagner 
: What are the implications of the Government decision to phase out analogue television services in the switch to digital transmission and has thought been put into dealing with the large volume of old televisions that will be added to the waste stream as a consequence? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: Yes this is an issue. Although people will be able to get a digital decoder for older televisions to work we expect a surge of about 500000 older TVs being added to the waste stream and they will contain about a thousand tonnes of lead. The Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry of Economic Development have been asked by Cabinet to work on solutions to this issue in parallel with the broader programme of improving New Zealand’s management of electronic waste. A key issue is the capital cost of the equipment to extract the lead from the glass. I have had discussions on this issue with Australian Ministers and we are exploring the possibility of a joint initiative to achieve this recycling at least cost. 
Nicky Wagner 
: How much has this Government committed to improving the management of electronic waste and how does this compare with the previous Government? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: This Government has invested approximately $2.3 million in improving the management of e-waste in 2009 and 2010 as part of our strategy of focusing on those solid wastes that pose the greatest harm. The total amount spent in the previous 9 years was $247000 or about a tenth of what National has invested in just 2 years. 
Charles Chauvel 
: Can the Minister update the House on the status of the 966 tonnes of e-waste collected on eDay last year which when he last advised the House was sitting on a wharf in Korea and which he could not give any undertakings would be recycled? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: There was a problem in both 2008 and in 2009 with some of the waste that was collected on eDay. Some of that remains and the Government is letting a contract for the recycling of about 200 tonnes—I do not have the exact figures but I would be happy to provide the exact tonnage to the member. Effectively the previous Government grossly underfunded eDay which meant there were not the funds to be able to professionally deal with the waste. I am pleased that this Government has shown some environmental responsibility and made sure that the job is being done properly. 
Charles Chauvel 
: When if ever will the Minister just get on and approve a product stewardship scheme for e-waste at point of purchase to reduce the 80000 tonnes of e-waste that is currently deposited every year in landfills by New Zealanders and why does he not just get on and do that so that every day can be eDay? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: I am quite open-minded about a stewardship scheme for electronic waste and it is one of the things that we need to explore. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: Oh! 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: The member laughs but I alert her to the fact that after 9 years in Government Labour did absolutely nothing about electronic waste. We ran the most successful eDay ever and have a programme for providing 20 recycling depots around the country. The reality is that this Government has made more progress on e-waste in 2 years than Labour made in 9 years.