Phillip’s handy contribution

Kurrajong Recycling has a 98% electronic materials recovery rate. Phillip Pumpa is proud to play a part in this great achievement.

Three days a week, Phillip joins his friends at Kurrajong Recycling to dismantle computers, televisions and other electrical equipment down into their components – like copper wires, metals and glass – to prepare for recycling.

Because this process is done by hand, the amount of material that can be recycled is far higher than what other automated processes generate.

“It’s a good place to work,” Phillip said.

“I like the work I do. It’s really great.

“I like seeing the people I know and talking to them. I’ve worked here for 10 years so have worked with the same people for a long time.”

“I also like talking to the supervisors.”

One of Phillip’s supervisors is Shirley Beattie.

Shirley helps oversee the 20 employees in Kurrajong’s electronic recycling team (around 10 employees typically work on any given day).

“Phillip is a very charming gentleman,” she said.

“He’s always got quite a happy disposition and it’s good to have a little bit of a joke with Phil. He’s always telling me what shows are on the television.

“Before I came to work for Kurrajong I was in a totally different field. To work with the wide range of people that I work with here has been quite a blessing.

“Every person who works here has an intellectual disability and some have other disabilities. It brings its own challenges and rewards but every person is different and every day is very varied.”

Kurrajong offers Phillip flexible hours where he can choose his own hours and days of work. Shirley is also able to support Phillip if he needs help to make or attend an appointment.

“Looking out for the health and wellbeing of our supported employees is something we do.

“Kurrajong is important because it provides people with disabilities the opportunity to work and to feel a sense of self-worth. The supported employees get self-satisfaction and they’re also providing an important community service.”

Kurrajong Recycling - facts

• As part of the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme, established in 2011, Kurrajong Recycling recycles the electronic waste for a number of RAMROC and REROC councils.
• Contracted to product stewardship organisation MRI, Kurrajong supported employees dismantle electrical and electronic equipment such as computers, televisions, vacuums and microwaves.
• Kurrajong Recycling processes 450 tonnes of these materials each year.
• The recovery rate is 98%, a much higher rate of recovery than automated processes. The remaining 2% is mostly timber which cannot be recycled.
• Overall, Kurrajong Recycling processes 17,500 tonnes of materials each year.
• As well as providing kerbside recycling processing services to local councils, Kurrajong Recycling also offers a document destruction service (both electronic and paper documents) on a fee for service basis, commercial waste collections, rural properties domestic recycling and scrap metal recycling.