When your electronic device has just died or you have replaced it with a new one, your first thought is to get rid of it by placing it in your kerbside bin.
However, disposing of electronics and hazardous waste in kerbside bins is dangerous and must not be done.
Why can’t you put your electronic waste and hazardous waste in kerbside bins?
- Dangerous for the rubbish trucks
Many people don’t realize that everything that is in your kerbside bin gets crushed or compacted once in some rubbish trucks to produce more space on the truck for more rubbish to be collected before it is taken to the dump.
Therefore, if you place electronic waste or hazardous waste into your bin, and it is compacted in the truck, the hazardous waste liquid, which is flammable, can burst open and go everywhere in the back of the truck.
Electronic waste also becomes dangerous when the compression in the truck rips the wires and opens the electronics.
Both electronic and other hazardous waste once compressed can cause a fire in the truck.
That’s why these items should never be put in your kerbside bin collection.
- Hazardous waste can cause a tip fire
You are probably thinking that you have never seen a rubbish truck on fire, so this must not happen often, therefore you don’t have to worry about it.
Although, just because it doesn’t happen often in the trucks, it doesn’t mean a fire can’t start when the waste is dumped at the tips. There have been many occasions where a fire has started because hazardous waste was placed in a kerbside bin, been brought back to the tip, dumped and a fire has started due to people not disposing hazardous waste in the proper manner.
Remember everything you put in your kerbside bin ends up at a tip and any hazardous waste or electronic waste you put in, can lead to a fire.
Dumps prevent fires by separating hazardous waste from the other rubbish and its our responsibility as a customer to do the same.
- Recycling helps keep the waste down / build new items
Taking your electronic waste to specific recycling stores helps in many ways.
Electronics can have wiring, metal and other good materials that can be recycled and reused for other items that are being produced. Therefore, instead of most of the old electronics going into landfill, the parts can be reused.
If everyone brought their electronics to a recycling place, there would be less waste, less fires, it would help us all be more environmentally friendly and we could use the resources we already have to our advantage.
What is electronic hazardous waste?
Electronic waste is anything that is electrical. Some examples of electronic waste are laptops, computers, printers, hair dryers, heaters, fans, vacuums, toasters, blenders and kettles.
What are types of other hazardous waste?
Old chemicals, poisons, oils, adhesives and paints are the main types of hazardous waste that are usually sitting around residential homes.
Hazardous waste can be spotted by looking at the can or bottle of the product and if you spot phrases such as “dangerous,” “warning,” “caution,” “poison,” or “do not dispose in household rubbish,” then your item is hazardous.
These hazardous items must not be placed into general household waste bins and instead be disposed and dropped off to the correct hazardous waste companies, where they will be disposed of in a safe and environmentally friendly way.
These other hazardous waste items are also known to burst causing fires and other problems.
What can I do with my hazardous waste?
If you are looking for a way to dispose of your hazardous waste and electrical waste in an environmentally friendly way, contact us. We will let you know if we can come, pick up and dispose of all your hazardous waste for you.
If there are some hazardous waste items we do not take, we will try to help you find a place that does.
What companies take electronic waste?
We can also come and collect your electronic waste for you.
We do not accept drop offs, therefore, if you would like to drop off your items go here or to www.computerrecycling.co.nz.
For an estimate quote go here.
