A Comparative Study of E-Waste Management Practices of Regional Councils in Victoria and Queensland, Australia

Globally, Australia is ranked the fourth-top producer of e-waste. While Australian states and territories are increasingly recognising the e-waste problem and developing policies and regulations that deal with e-waste, huge amounts of e-waste still go undocumented. Currently, regional councils are concerned with the existing recycling practices owing to the escalating quantities of e-waste generated yearly. This paper examines the e-waste management practices of Victorian and Queensland regional councils, compares the current practices in managing e-waste, identifies the problems and challenges, and recommends innovative approaches to address e-waste collection and recycling practices in Australia. This study was conducted in regional Victoria and Queensland councils. A qualitative research method employing semi-structured interviews is adopted in this study. The study interviewed 49 employees of Victorian and Queensland regional councils. The findings of the study identified a number of areas that needs improvement in the management of e-waste such as: (a) lack of education and awareness about e-waste for the residents in the communities, (b) absence of knowledge about e-waste recycling (c) poor attitude towards e-waste recycling, (d) lack of sufficient funding; (e) limited number of e-waste recyclers to engage, (f) lack of specific policies and legislation on e-waste management (g) inability of the current National Television Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS) and mobile muster national product stewardship initiatives and schemes to cover all categories of e-waste. These results suggest that e-waste management practices in Victorian and Queensland Regional Councils need improvement. The findings of this study show that there are more similarities and fewer differences in how the Victorian and Queensland regional councils manage their e-waste. This study provides numerous practical and workable suggestions for addressing the e-waste management practices of regional councils in Australia. From a real-world scenario, this study will be useful to regional councils, environmentalists, and policymakers in identifying areas of improvement in e-waste management practices and developing impactful solutions.