At ACIG we
love doing program evaluations, and one of the things we enjoy most is learning about the often unheralded but very valuable work that is going on in different industry sectors.
We got the chance to do this last year when we were engaged by the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy (DoEE) to evaluate the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS).
Yes, we know it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but the NTCRS is a really beneficial scheme that is helping to reduce the number of discarded TVs and computers being dumped into landfill. And if you think about how often people upgrade their tech these days, then you’ll realise there’s an awful lot of TVs and computers being thrown out all the time. Through the NTCRS, instead of going into landfill, more than 230,000 tonnes of these e-waste products have been collected and recycled to date – which is a fantastic outcome for the environment.
Our comprehensive evaluation of the NTCRS focused on the appropriateness, efficiency, effectiveness and impact, and sustainability of the scheme. We analysed five years’ worth of NTCRS data and consulted a diverse range of stakeholders via interview and online survey.
Although we found that the NTCRS is working well and achieving its objectives to date, we also identified a number of opportunities for improvement so that the scheme can continue to be successful into the future.
But don’t just take our word for it – DoEE has recently published our report so you can read it for yourselves.
