Hi-Tech Awards applaud eDay

Media release
4 May 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Prestigious Hi-Tech Awards applaud eDay for diverting toxic waste from our landfills

The 15th annual PricewaterhouseCoopers Hi-Tech Awards were presented to 11 recipients on Friday night in a special award ceremony at the Christchurch Convention Centre.

Computer Access New Zealand (CANZ), organiser of the national eDay programme, was honoured as the recipient of the award for Outstanding Industry Initiative.

eDay 2008, New Zealand’s only community-driven national electronic waste recycling event, diverted 946 tonnes of computer waste from landfills. More than 16,600 carloads of electronic waste (e-waste) was dropped off at 33 venues in October last year with more than 87,000 computer items including monitors, CPUs and printers diverted from being dumped in New Zealand's landfills.

Laurence Zwimpfer, chairperson of CANZ and organiser of the event, says the award is fantastic recognition of the effort invested by hundreds of volunteers and 100 funding partners, including central government, local authorities, local businesses, computer companies, recycling partners and transport operators.

“The success of eDay for three years now proves that New Zealanders are looking for a sustainable way to dispose of e-waste. It is great to have this initiative acknowledged by our peers,” said Mr Zwimpfer.

Funding is now the main challenge for a 2009 national eDay, scheduled to be on Saturday September 12.

“We have received interest from 40 regions that are keen to host eDay locally in 2009, and this year we expect to divert well over 1,000 tonnes of e-waste from our landfills. While the interest is fantastic news for our environment and our communities, CANZ is a non-profit organisation and relies totally on partners to cover the cost of environmentally safe disposal of this equipment,” said Mr Zwimpfer.

“This is a problem that affects us all; we are asking for continuing support from everyone involved in the supply chain, including government, manufacturers, retailers and ICT service providers. eDay is simply not possible without ongoing backing from the whole industry.”

eDay gives people the chance to dispose of their old computer equipment and mobile phones quickly in an environmentally-friendly way, and is aimed at raising awareness about the environmental and health dangers of e-waste dumped in landfills.

“Our key aim is to increase community awareness of the hazardous nature of electronic equipment, making it clear that disposal in landfills is not a sustainable option,” he concluded.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers Hi-Tech Awards are presented annually to celebrate New Zealand's highly successful and burgeoning high tech companies and their achievements.

eDay 2009 is expected to take place on Saturday September 12. Venue details will be released shortly.

For more details on eDay visit www.eday.org.nz

ENDS

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