CONSTRUCTION from these mixed waste streams . Two of the most successful products are eWood ®, a functional and sustainable material which can be used to replace timber , and TonerPave ®, a high-performance asphalt .
2016-17 has been the best year for the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program yet . Approximately 13,500 cartridges have been returned every working day for the past 12 months . Also , nearly 8 million Canon cartridges alone have been recycled through the program since it started in 2003 .
Global solutions Recycling is one approach to reducing e-waste . However , roughly 80 per cent of the carbon dioxide emitted by the ICT industry is emitted in the manufacturing process , so reuse of products is by far the best outcome in terms of environmental sustainability . The industry supports the export model where products and parts are broken down in Australia , and then components are sold overseas into international commodity markets to be reused .
The reuse market is growing in developing countries but the export of e-waste must be effectively tracked and policed to prevent illegal dumping . The Australian Government is actively involved in deterring this activity and there ’ s some good work being done already through the Basel Convention on movement of hazardous waste , but more needs to be done .
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