Officeworks sets impressive targets
Part of the Recycling Near You network in association with Planet Ark
It used to only be printer cartridges and mobile phones, but now the range of items that can be recycled at Officeworks Stores is a credit to the company. The list includes: Pens and markers, Mobile phones and accessories, Data storage, Batteries, Ink and Toner cartridges, Computers and accessories. It’s always good to profile a company that is practicing circular economy principles.
The company blurb states that: Officeworks is on a mission to reduce its environmental footprint and help its customers recycle more. Every store has a free drop-off recycling station.
Since 2005, Officeworks has been involved in the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program. To date, more than 12 million printer cartridges have been recycled through Officeworks, making it the largest retail partner to the program.
As part of its People & Planet Positive 2025 Commitments, Officeworks has set goals as part of implementing circular economy principles, to become a zero-waste business • Repair, repurpose or recycle 17,000 tonnes of unwanted products • Ensure all packaging is reusable or recyclable, and use 100% renewable energy.
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Trade power tool and household battery recycling
Bunnings has gotten onto the bandwagon introducing a battery recycling service. It’s not before time. Perhaps this is a bit harsh, but the number of batteries going to landfill is a shocker. As the Bunnings blurb notes:
Batteries are in demand. More and more products, from power tools to household items, rely on battery power. However, as demand grows, so does waste. Each year, more than 300 million batteries are thrown away; that’s 8000 tonnes ending up in landfills.
Bunnings has partnered with Envirostream Australia, who will repurpose the batteries into new ones or into other industries, which will mean circular economy principles will be practiced as they should be.
Only about two percent of Australia’s annual 3.3 million kilograms of lithium-ion battery waste is recycled each year. If we turn that around and start recycling, 95 percent of battery components can be reused. Bunnings battery recycling.
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Consumer guarantee of ‘acceptable quality’
How long will my washing machine really last? If my vacuum cleaner breaks, will it be easy to repair? If my smartphone dies, can I take it to any repair store or do I need to wait until the manufacturer can look at it?
When you’re buying a product or when something goes wrong, durability and repairability matter.
At CHOICE, we want a world where it’s easy to find products that last and where the repair process is simple and fair. Better quality products in our homes with a lower environmental impact, is what we’re aiming for.
In the meantime we need to all be aware that: under Australian Consumer Law goods purchased come with automatic guarantees that they are of ‘acceptable quality’, meaning they should be safe, durable and free from defects for a reasonable period of time. The consumer guarantees are separate from the manufacturer’s warranty and may still apply even if the warranty attached to the product has already expired.
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Segregation can be a most desirable thing
The word conjures up images that most of us would rather consign to past history. Politically charged, within that context it raises the hackles of most decent people in what we know to be a civil society. It’s association with apartheid in South Africa has tainted the word so much that we tend not to use it all.
But there are situations where segregation is most appropriate and should be applied with great enthusiasm. Segregation is exactly what’s needed within a recycling context. The segregation of soft plastics into containers separate from bottles and cans and cartons.
The Swedish take on recycling is one we need to adopt ASAP. Every supermarket in Sweden has two reverse vending machines. There is no weekly kerbside garbage collection. There are large skip type containers located on footpaths where people take and separate their items before they are returned for recycling. In total the Swedes recycle 96 per cent of the materials that we either dispose of via the weekly bin collections or bulk waste, and by dumping into landfill. Recycling in Sweden is a massive industry and everyone does it, without exception, from the individual household to the largest corporation. Period.
MMM … Issue 26, February 2022
