More effort to diverting e-waste from landfill will be a key effort under the new Australian/New Zealand Standard for electronic waste announced by Standards Australia earlier this week.

“The standard will help to divert e-waste from landfill by providing a rigorous process for its collection, storage, and recycling,” said Colin Blair, Chief Executive Officer, Standards Australia.

The Joint Australian and New Zealand Standard, ‘AS/NZS 5377:2013 Collection, storage, transport and treatment of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment’, will outline minimum requirements for the safe and environmentally sound handling of e-waste.   

Mr Blair said the new standards establish principles and minimum requirements for end-of-life electrical equipment in order to maximize re-use and reduce waste going to landfill.

“The standard states that a lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation or adverse health and safety effects. The standard  sends a strong message regarding the environmental concerns of e-waste,” Mr Blair said. 

Mr Blair said the standard recognizes that there are laws  in place regulating how to comply with occupational health and safety requirements  and environmental performance, and that Australia and New Zealand are signatories to international agreements on environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and pollutants.

“The standard enhances existing environmental protections and international obligations, while establishing the processes required to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill,” Mr Blair said. 

The new standard can be purchased here