Waste not: Timaru District Council waste minimisation manager Ruth Clarke with some of the old television
sets collected under the Governments TV TakeBack programme. Photo: JOHN BISSET/FAIRFAX NZ
2000 old TVs collected locally
Andrew Voerman The Timaru District Council has received 1841 television sets to be recycled as part of the Governments TV TakeBack programme. This follows the collection of more than 200 televisions by retailers earlier this year. The televisions are sent to an e-cycle plant in Christchurch, where they are broken down into their component parts, which can be re-used in a variety of ways. Council waste minimisation manager Ruth Clarke said it was really pleasing that so many people had taken advantage of the programme. The TV TakeBack scheme was launched to coincide with the digital switchover, which took place on April 28 in the South Island. From the end of May until August 21, the council gave locals the chance to recycle their old televisions for $5 rather than $10, thanks to a government subsidy. The council had a quota of 1925 subsidies, and used 95 per cent of them. This was a really good result, given the short timeframe, Ms Clarke said. Unwanted televisions can still be recycled at Noel Leeming for $5 or at the Redruth transfer station for $10.