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Changes to the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme

Regulation Impact Statement – Department of the Environment

On 25 June 2015, the Government made changes to the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (the Scheme). Under the scheme, the television and computer industries are required to fund collection and recycling of a proportion of the televisions and computers disposed of in Australia each year. This proportion increases in stages to a peak of 80 per cent of all imports. The changes to the Scheme aim to improve the operation of the scheme, including by providing stability to the recycling industry and maintaining employment of disadvantaged workers. These changes include flattening the speed of growth in the volume of recycling that the television and computer industries are required to undertake (so that more recycling is required in the near future and less in outward years), and requiring recyclers participating in the scheme to gain additional accreditation with regards to environmental and work health and safety outcomes. The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) considers the Department of the Environment is compliant with the Government’s RIS requirements and best practice. The Department of the Environment estimates the average annual regulatory savings of the proposal to be $7.057 million and this has been agreed with the OBPR.