Several communities in the Northwest Territories (NWT) will now be able to recycle an expanded list of electronics. Residents in Yellowknife, N’Dilo, Dettah, Hay River, Kátł’odeeche First Nation, Enterprise, Kakisa, Inuvik, Fort Smith, Fort Providence and Norman Wells will be able to bring more electronics and electrical products to their recycling depots over the next two years.
The expanded list contains over 500 products across seven broad categories: small appliances and lighting; audio visual; telecom devices; power and air tools; games, toys and music; lawn and garden; and solar panels.
The Electronic and Electrical Products Recycling Pilot Project (E-Pilot) expands on the existing electronics recycling program, which has seen a total of 350 tonnes of electronics collected since it launched in 2016. Expanding the list of what can be recycled will mean even more products will be diverted from landfills.
Shane Thompson, NWT Minister of Environment and Natural Resources
“Electronic waste is an expanding category that has huge environmental and economic potential if managed wisely,” said Shane Thompson, NWT’s Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. “This expanded pilot program will mean preventing hazardous materials from contaminating our land and water, and keep resources out of our landfills. This pilot program will provide us with valuable data to use as we continue to work toward a sustainable future in the NWT.”
Over the duration of the pilot, the NWT will use the E-Pilot to work out logistics and assess the quantity of materials likely to be recycled annually and the associated costs of handling, transporting and recycling them. This information will be important to help design a self-sustaining program to best manage this expanded suite of products.
The existing electronics recycling program across the NWT will continue. Since 2016, residents have been able to recycle TVs and monitors, computers and servers, laptop, tablet and notebook computers, and printers, copiers, scanners and fax machines at participating recycling depots and collection events. In 2019-2020, this program collected approximately 80.5 tonnes of eligible electronics, or about 1.8 kilograms per person.
For a full list of the items now accepted in the NWT, visit: https://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/sites/enr/files/resources/e-pilot_full_recycling_list_oct_2021.pdf
For information on electronics recycling programs across the NWT, visit: https://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/en/services/waste-reduction-and-recycling/electronics-recycling-program
Featured image of motherboard from Freepik.
