E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream globally yet Australia’s largest companies are neglecting it, according to Sircel chief executive Anthony Karam.
Karam criticised boardrooms for overlooking the opportunity to extract valuable commodities from discarded electronics such as computers, printers and monitors, and reinvest them back into Australia’s circular economy.
Instead, this e-waste is largely sent to developing countries, where it is dumped and poses severe environmental damage and health risks.
Karam highlighted that while most ASX 200 companies were focused on sustainability and reducing Scope 3 emissions, few addressed e-waste recycling in their strategies.
Sircel found that only 19% of ASX 200 firms mentioned e-waste in their most recent sustainability reports, with just one linking it to Scope 3 emissions.
“E-waste may be front and centre to Sircel as that’s what we do, but most ASX companies don’t think much about it,” Karam told The Australian.
He stressed that e-waste management required specific solutions and should not be lumped into broader recycling efforts.
Sircel’s report, Plugging Australia’s E-waste Gap, launched today — International E-waste Day — revealed that 70% of Australians want e-waste recycled domestically.
Karam called for the government to overhaul recycling laws and make e-waste part of the Future Made in Australia policy, citing the potential to recover valuable materials without mining.
“We can get all these commodities regenerated from the e-waste we currently produce,” he said.
Sircel, which operates six recycling facilities, aims to recover valuable materials such as precious metals from e-waste
Sircel’s modular recycling system enables rapid scaling, offering the capacity to handle Australia’s growing e-waste burden. It operates six recycling facilities across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and has the capacity to process 100% of the e-waste it receives.