Australia faces growing levels of e-waste

CANBERRA, Nov 14 (Reuters) Technology mad Australians are creating a small mountain of E-waste as they discard their old computers, prompting industry calls for nationwide regulations on recycling and disposal.

A new report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows E-waste -- discarded computers and electronic goods -- is growing three times faster than regular waste as Australians rush to upgrade their computers with new models.

Official figures estimate Australia, a country of 20 million people, will have discarded or stockpiled a total of 8.7 million computers by the end of 2006.

''It is a hidden problem,'' the Australian Computer Society's Brenda Aynsley told Reuters today.

''Nobody really knows the full extent of it.'' The problem is compounded by the large number of Australians who store their old computers away, hoping one day to find a new use for them.

The Bureau of Statistics said Australians buy more than 2.4 million new computers each year. It estimates Australians will replace nine million computers, five million printers and two million scanners within the next two years.

It said in 2006, 1.6 million computers will be sent to landfill rubbish dumps, while a further 1.8 million would be put in storage, joining 5.3 million old computers already in storage.

With the problem growing, many rubbish dumps refuse to take computers, or charge up to A30 dollars (23 dollars) to take discarded computer equipment.

The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), which includes top computer manufacturers and retailers, said industry was working towards more recycling.

Some leading companies already recycled old computers, taking the old machines back when a person buys a new one, while a small number of old but working computers are exported.

AIIA general manager of strategy James McAdam said industry was pushing for a national approach to computer recycling and was working with manufacturers and retailers, as well as national, state and local governments.

''Everybody needs to be involved in a scheme that will be national in scope,'' McAdam told Reuters. ''We're trying to move into a situation where you won't see any more personal computers go into landfill.'' Reuters BDP DB1119