IT Services

Policy Subject

ITS012 - Electronic Waste (e-waste)

Contact
Officer

Director of Sustainability

Overview

This document provides a policy covering the collection and treatment of waste electronic equipment within Macquarie University (Macquarie). In order to effectively manage electronic waste (e-waste) across Macquarie some recommendations for user education programmes and changes to Macquarie’s procurement requirements are included.

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Scope

All staff and students, including contractors and visitors.

Policy

Definitions

For the purpose of this policy the term ‘electronic equipment’ refers to, and includes equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to operate and contains a hard-drive or significant electronic components.

*Note: All e-waste located in or near laboratories where hazardous chemicals are used will be the responsibility of the Faculty, and under no circumstance be delivered to the holding facility until it has been cleaned in accordance with the hazardous waste policy.

Many of the included items are classified as financial assets rather than consumables and are therefore the main focus for this policy due to their financial impact from purchase through to disposal. However, it is noted that smaller items such as mobile phones and cameras are classed as consumables and as such, are not catalogued or audited using the same methodology. Trends indicate that an increasing number of items will be classed as consumables rather than assets due to falling costs. The environmental footprint of all of the selected items is significant based on several factors, including the resource consumption associated with manufacture; end of life treatments including use of landfill void space.

Policy Principles

Electronic equipment only becomes a ‘waste’ upon the point where it is permanently discarded by the owner or authorised person, (i.e. Head of Faculty/Office) and NOT the user. An item of equipment, once permanently discarded by the owner is classified as a waste, regardless if it is operational or non-operational.

There are four key principles regarding the disposal of electronic equipment:

1.       Data protection;
2.       Protection of the environment;
3.       Social responsibility; and
4.       Disposal.

1.  Data Protection

For any computer equipment capable of storing information, compliance to both the Information Privacy Principles contained in the table below must be adhered to:

The following New South Wales legislation establishes the key legal framework for the protection of personal information:

Contact for Questions
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Privacy Contact Officer of Macquarie University.

Personal information includes anything that can identify the individual and includes personal information contained within electronic media, including photographs. Macquarie has a duty to secure and protect all personal information (student and staff) which it holds.
Refer: its.mq.edu.au/policies/ITPolicies/its001.html  (Information Security Policy)

*Note: old and obsolete equipment may hold sensitive information and licensed software and consequently, will need to be treated the same way as newer equipment, regardless of residual financial value.

See the E-Waste Disposal Procedures for guidance on the levels of sanitisation available/required.

2.  Protection of the Environment

Wherever possible, computer equipment should be re-deployed, either in its current state or after upgrading, within Macquarie, or where no internal markets exist externally.

Sold or donated equipment should be recycled or disposed of in an environmentally and socially-friendly manner. Refer: Macquarie University Asset Management Policy www.ofs.mq.edu.au/asset_management/index.htm

The Australian Government has a mandatory list of Endorsed Suppliers when purchasing major office machinery at www.esa.finance.gov.au/. These suppliers have fulfilled a pre-qualification process which ensures listed suppliers comply with ‘Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines and Best Practice Guidance’. The Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments have also endorsed the National Government Waste Reduction and Purchasing Guidelines which links sound purchasing policies to the reduction of waste and suggests environmental purchasing criteria for personal computers and monitors etc.

Only designated disposal points may be used for e-waste and NO electronic equipment may be placed into either the general bins or skips located on Macquarie University property. Please refer to the e-waste procedures at: www.its.mq.edu.au/policies/ITPolicies/index.html for information relating to the safe and legal disposal of electronic items.

3.  Social Responsibility
Macquarie shall make all reasonable investigations regarding the final destination of all electronic equipment which it either sells or donates. To help ensure this, Macquarie will request purchasers and beneficiaries of all electronic equipment to supply documentation specifying the final user, and objective (where known), in addition to guaranteeing the end-of-life procedures and destination.

Where electronic equipment is sent for disposal, Macquarie will endorse the ‘proximity principle’ wherever possible and ensure that the equipment is either redeployed or disposed of as close to the point of generation (Macquarie University Campus) as possible within Australia.

4.  Disposal

Any disposal of electronic assets will be in accordance with the procedures specified by Macquarie University’s Financial Management Asset Disposal Policy: www.ofs.mq.edu.au/asset_management/disposal.htm

The E-Waste Disposal Procedures specify Macquarie’s arrangements for quarterly collection of redundant electronic equipment for recycling. Authority for the disposal of electronic equipment must be obtained from the Head of Faculty/Office) that owns the equipment.

Subject to financial regulations, Macquarie will endeavour to ensure maximum usage and value for money is obtained from all electronic items in order to minimise e-waste where possible.

All equipment prior to release for disposal by the Faculty/Office will ensure that sanitisation procedures have been followed. Refer: (e-waste procedures link to Web)

Changes to Macquarie University Tender and Purchasing Policies

In an attempt to address sustainability issues in the procurement of electronic equipment, additional criteria can be added requesting potential suppliers to detail how they address environmental standards in relation to:

• Toxics Reduction;
• Material Selection;
• Design for End of Life;
• Life-cycle extension; and
• Energy Conservation.

Macquarie could specify conditions to include:

• The labelling of components for recycling;
• Energy usage during in-service life-time;
• The life expectancy of equipment; and
• Take-back of products for recycling or appropriate disposal.

This would represent a significant move in incorporating environmental considerations in purchasing decisions.

All the products and services procured by Macquarie have an impact on the local and possibly, the global environment. These impacts start at the raw manufacturing stage and progress through to final disposal. 

User Education

The average computer user within Macquarie may be unaware of the scope of the problem of disposal of waste electronic and computer equipment in relation to financial and regulatory guidelines and issues relating to data protection. Whilst some users may be aware of their individual difficulty in locating an appropriate recycling or disposal pathway for their end-of-life electronic equipment, they may not be fully aware of the nature of hazardous materials used in computer manufacture and the requirement for special disposal, particularly if classified as hazardous waste.

How to address the e-waste issue needs to be integrated into other staff development activities and campus programs to ensure it becomes a part of the culture in the organisation. Suggested avenues include staff development programs and a sustainability office program.

In addition, a short e-waste education program comprising of a leaflet and identification of relevant Web site resources should be included within staff induction programmes (at all levels, to academic, general, and casual staff). 

References

CAUDIT Research Report, Electronic Waste 2006
(Council Australia Directors Information Technology)
Macquarie University Asset Policy

PPIP ACT 1998 (Privacy Policy)

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Key Words

Electronic waste, e-waste, computers, electrical equipment, sustainability, asset disposal.

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Sustainability Strategy (to be written)
Sustainability Policy (to be written )
E-Waste Disposal Procedures