Households and small businesses will be able to drop off their old computers and televisions at 20 electronic waste recycling depots around the country by next October.
E-waste disposers will pay a fee to use the service, designed to prevent tens of thousands of tonnes of hazardous materials from being dumped in landfills.
The Government has contributed $400,000 to the set up of the depots, which will be a joint venture between Auckland e-waste recycling firm RCN Group and the Community Recycling Network, which represents local recycling initiatives around the country.
The Government has also put $750,000 towards this year's eDay, a national electronic waste disposal event, after refusing an initial funding application.
Joe Capizzi, chief executive of the RCN Group, said it would set up recycling facilities in Wellington and Christchurch to join its Auckland facility in processing the waste collected at the 20 depots. "We'll be trying to cover most corners of the country."
The RCN Group and the Community Recycling Network would also help fund the development of the depot network.
The depots were intended for IT products but could also collect old televisions, he said. Materials collected, such as glass and copper, would be distributed to local recyclers where possible.
"We're finally getting to a permanent solution rather than just having the once-a-year eDay."
Laurence Zwimpfer, chairman of eDay New Zealand, said eDay would be held on November 6 and Wellingtonians would again take their e-waste to Westpac Stadium.
The Environment Ministry had been concerned eDay was not evolving into a longer-term solution.
The e-waste depots were a step in the right direction but could struggle to become financially sustainable if people balked at paying for the service, Mr Zwimpfer said.
Ultimately the Government would need to impose a product stewardship scheme in which manufacturers covered the cost of recycling their goods, for example by paying a $30 tariff on products.
"The end consumer has to pay somewhere and if you put it on the purchase price no-one notices."
He urged people to get together with neighbours and pool their e-waste before dropping it off on November 6. The ministry would now handle the recycling of all the products collected.
The company charged with exporting waste from last year's eDay was prosecuted by the ministry for trying to export hazardous waste without permits, and its director was fined $13,590 in the Auckland District Court in August.
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