Christchurch residents have a new place to recycle their electronic waste and unwanted devices.
New Zealand technology company Echo officially opened its new e-waste recycling facility in Hornby South on Wednesday.
Echo chief executive Patrick Moynahan said it marks the next stage of the company’s investment in e-waste infrastructure.
The new centre on Canada Cres became operational on August 10 but was officially opened yesterday to mark International E-Waste Day.
Moynahan said the company aims to make technology reuse and recycling more accessible.
“Christchurch is much more than another location for Echo,” he said.
“It is an important step to making it easier for South Island businesses and communities to manage tech responsibly throughout its lifecycle — from secure IT re-use and remarketing to eco-friendly e-waste processing and recovery.”
Echo, New Zealand’s largest e-waste recycling company, acquired E-Cycle South Island earlier this year. It also held an E-Day in Christchurch in June, which attracted more than 500 vehicles and collected about 17,000kg of unwanted electronics in one day.
“The response to our first E-Day was a pretty clear signal that the appetite is here,” said Moynahan.
“People want to do the right thing with their old technology, but access matters. Bringing more capability into Christchurch means we can make responsible reuse and recycling easier and keep more equipment and valuable materials in circulation.
“If we want the circular economy to work in practice nationally, businesses and households need convenient, secure and responsible options for what happens to technology when they no longer need it.”
Echo manages the full lifecycle of technology, rather than simply recycling equipment at the end of its useful life, said Moynahan.
“A circular economy isn’t just about recycling more. The first question should be whether a piece of technology can stay in productive use for longer.
“That means recovering, refurbishing and remarketing equipment wherever possible, securely managing data-bearing devices, and then responsibly recovering materials when technology genuinely reaches the end of its life.
“The more value we can retain from the technology and materials already in circulation, the less we need to treat them as waste.”
Moynahan said the acquisition of BMS expanded Echo’s ability to undertake IT asset recovery, remarketing, refurbishment, secure data management and recycling.
Echo and BMS now process more than four million kilograms of e-waste and about 150,000 technology assets a year.
More than 100 specialists work across its four sites in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Echo’s long-term goal is to process 20,000 tonnes of material annually by the end of 2028.
-Allied Media