Throwing old computers and TVs in the garbage will soon be banned.

The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) plans to prohibit electronic waste disposal in area landfills through a dumping ban that would be phased in through 2007 and be fully enforced in 2008.

It would go hand in hand with a planned e-waste recycling program slated for launch next summer.

“Disposal bans are a natural complement to recycling programs and send a clear signal that if a material can be recycled, it should not be thrown in the garbage,” says a GVRD report outlining the strategy.

An estimated 20,000 tonnes of TVs, computers and other e-waste are dumped in Greater Vancouver each year.

The industry-led recycling system is expected to add a surcharge on sales of new computer systems – likely at least $20 – to finance the program. TVs, computers and various peripherals like keyboards and mice would be covered.

Once the recycling system is in place, e-waste would be added to the list of other substances the GVRD bans from its landfills – old corrugated cardboard, office paper and newspapers.

Loads that contain more than 10 per cent of the banned materials are dinged with a 50 per cent surcharge on top of the regular tipping fee.

The plan for the e-waste ban calls for mainly public education early in 2007, followed by “light enforcement” next fall.

The report indicates a “comprehensive strategy” to ban additional materials from the waste stream is in the works.