EPRA achieves e-waste recycling milestone in PE Island

TORONTO (Scrap Monster): The Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA) has completed five years of e-waste collection and recycling operations in Prince Edward Island. Over the course of five years, islanders achieved significant progress in responsible recycling of unwanted electronics, noted EPRA. An event was held at the GreenIsle Waste Watch Drop-off Centre, Charlottetown to mark the fifth anniversary of operations in the island. The EPRA also congratulated participating retailers, manufacturers, distributors and suppliers on the huge success of the program.

The E-stewardship program was launched in PEI in July 2010. Since then, it has collected over 3,000 metric tons of discarded electronics across the province. The collected items include nearly 465,000 televisions, computers, printers and other electronic devices, which would otherwise have ended in landfills. The collected electronics were recycled responsibly. The per capita electronics recycling rate in the province stood high at 4.5 kilograms, noted Gerard MacLellan, Executive Director of EPRA Atlantic Canada.

EPRA does not charge customers for dropping discarded electronics at designated drop-off locations. The program is funded through the Environmental Handling Fee (EHF) that is charged on the sale of new electronic products. EPRA serves islanders through six drop off locations. Studies indicate that 99% of the islanders are within 30 kilometers of any one of these drop-off facilities. Also, surveys indicate that 80% of the residents are well aware about the EPRA’s electronics recycling initiative.

The list of electronics accepted by EPRA drop-off facilities include display devices (such as televisions and monitors), desktop printers, computers and peripherals (such as keyboards), home theatre in a box (HTB) systems, non-cellular telephones as well as audio and video systems.