Fifty industry staff, government representatives and researchers came together at a workshop in Perth in December to discuss the challenges involved in dealing with Australia’s growing volumes of unwanted electronic products (e-waste) and spent batteries.

"Two researchers from the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) in South Korea who have expertise in recovering valuable metals from electronic scrap and batteries introduced the audience to KIGAM recycling technologies,” says workshop convenor and Parker Centre Deputy CEO Dr Jim Avraamides.

"These researchers are involved in a joint project in which the Centre’s hydrometallurgy capabilities are complementing the current KIGAM research effort in this area.”

At the workshop, Dr Jae-Chun Lee from KIGAM spoke about the South Korean Government’s introduction of an Extended Producer Responsibility Program in 2003 which made producers of computers and white-goods appliances legally responsible for recycling a specified proportion of their products.

Dr Lee then outlined KIGAM’s work to assist manufacturers with meeting these recycling targets, including the development of technology for reclaiming metals from PCs and cellular phones which has led to a successful commercial plant.

His colleague, Dr Jeong-Soo Sohn, described KIGAM’s activities in developing processes for dry cell battery recycling.

L-R: Dr Jeong-Soo Sohn (KIGAM), convenor Dr Jim Avraamides (Parker Centre) and Dr Jae-Chun Lee (KIGAM).

Eight Australian presenters – Federal, State and local government representatives, industry suppliers and commercial recyclers – also spoke at the workshop. The topics covered ranged from the e-waste policy and legislative issues facing the Federal and State governments in Australia, collection considerations for local governments and recyclers, consumer attitudes, the challenges of processing e-waste, international efforts to tackle e-waste, methods for treating spent batteries and technologies for electronic scrap recycling.

The “Recovery and Recycling of Metals from Waste Electronic Scrap and Dry Cell Batteries” workshop was made possible by an Australian Government grant awarded to advance the collaborative relationship between the Parker Centre and KIGAM.