Waste Facts

• In 2008 the Camperdown and Darlington campuses generated an average of 9.3 tonnes of solid waste per day, 4.1 tonnes of which were recycled as clean source paper.

• In Australia we throw away up to 1.2 million ink jet cartridges and 250,000 laser cartridges per month! Yet we recycle a mere 15% of them (1).

• E-waste or Electronic waste contains more than 1000 different substances, many of which are toxic, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, hexavalent chromium, and flame retardants (2).

The Waste Heirarchy

The hierarchy of waste (shown below) demonstrates the preferred management of materials in a life cycle. The preferred approach is to avoid material use, then moving through recycling resources, and finally disposal as the least desirable (3).

Sources:
1. Clean Up Australia – E-waste fact Sheet
2. Widmer, R., H. Oswald-Krapf, et al. (2005). "Global perspectives on e-waste." Environmental Impact Assessment Review 25(5): 436-458
3. Diagram from Dept of Sustainability and Environment Victoria.