When we finish with our old televisions and computers, more often than not, they were containerised and shipped off to Asia where an army of locals would diligently pull them part and salvage what they could from the copper wiring and gold-plated contacts.
In more recent times however, these foreign recyclers have limited the amounts of industrial waste products.
For Tatura’s Troy Beecroft, the recycling process has been developing from a past-time activity into a small business.
Troy collects old electrical equipment from op-shops, or has it donated and then pulls it apart so that the bits can be sent off to the appropriate recycler.
Over time, Troy has learned that there are some things that cost more to dispose of than he can collect from the scrap. Old television tubes and fridges cannot be easily salvaged due to the chemicals used in their operation are two in particular. Also, a lot of the plastic used in some casings cannot be salvaged either.
Greater Shepparton have to deal with more than 66,000 tonnes of waste a year and we all need to be more mindful of the impact that is having on the environment. Small Facebook groups like Zero Waste Shepparton look to offer suggestions in how we can reduce the amount of waste we each produce a year.
