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  Straits Times 10 Apr 07
Go green when junking gadgets
Did you know that 90 per cent of a mobile phone can be recycled and precious metals such as gold and platinum can be extracted from it?

LIM YEE HUNG tells how to discard e-waste properly.

Be kind to gadgets that have passed their prime - or simply outlived their usefulness because you want something newer.Put them to out to pasture by recycling them, and do a favour to Mother Earth at the same time.

Nokia's director of environmental affairs, Ms Outi Mikkonen, told Digital Life that more than 90 per cent of a mobile phone can be recycled, and precious metals such as gold and platinum can be extracted from it as well.

Although Nokia has a take-back programme in place, which allows customers to return used products to the company, only 2 per cent of used mobile phones are recycled through the programme.

According to the company's research, almost half of all unused mobile phones are still being kept at home 'taking up drawer space'.

Mobile phones are one of the largest sources of electronic waste, or e-waste, given their high replacement rates, with 130 million disposed of annually in the United States alone.

The other major contributor to e-waste, personal computers, will see 500 million needing to be disposed this year according to environmental web portal Earth 911.

PC manufacturers are playing a major role in cleaning up their own e-waste: HP recycled 74.5 kilotonnes of hardware globally in 2005, while its counterparts IBM and Dell recovered about 54.5 kilotonnes and 36.3 kilotonnes, respectively.

New uses for old parts

Plastics and metals recovered from recycled items are used in new computer products, as well as a range of other items, including auto body parts, clothes hangers and plastic toys.

Electronics that can be reused are refurbished or repaired with data cleaned and disposed, before being resold at a much lower price as refurbished goods. Or, they are donated to charity.

In Singapore, local company CH E-Recycling (CHE) is dedicated to e-waste recycling. It specialises in scrap metal and plastic, and collects a wide range of electronics from computer servers to mobile phones.

Mr Jerry Ng, 34, CHE's sales and marketing manager, told Digital Life that the recycling service is provided free of charge to both consumers and corporate businesses.

Consumers can send in their unwanted items for recycling at either of its two factories at Jalan Papan and Tuas. Individuals can also call the company on 6898-2220 to arrange for transport if the items are bulky or if there is a large quantity to be disposed of.

Mr Ng also said that most of his business comes from tech manufacturers, who are doing their part to reduce e-waste by using recycling services. Most of them allow customers to return used products, which are then sent for processing at recycling centres such as CHE's.

Although there are several green disposal avenues available to consumers, not many are using them, mainly because they are not aware of them.

Research done by computer bigwig Hewlett-Packard shows that nearly three out of four consumers worldwide have used or unwanted digital doodads in their homes which they do not know how to dispose of.

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC), an environmental advocacy group, also estimates that a whopping 24 million unused televisions and computers are just lying around in homes and offices annually.

The conundrum does not end there. Improper disposal of tech gadgetry will result in these once-useful gadgets becoming big hunks of non-biodegradable metal and plastic that harm the environment.

Unlike other rubbish, incinerating or dumping e-waste in landfills poses a serious environmental threat. Electronic devices like computers and televisions contain neurotoxins and carcinogens that can leak into the groundwater when buried, or enter the air through burning or dust. These harmful chemicals can poison wildlife and pose a health threat to humans as well.

Compounding the problem is the sheer volume of e-waste being generated. According to Greenpeace International, an environmental activist group, up to 50 million tonnes of e-waste is produced per year.

A simple way to get around the problem is recycling, something that Salvation Army (SA) has been doing for a while by taking in all kinds of gadgetry. Non-working devices are sent for recycling, while the ones with a pulse in them are cleaned and resold at Salvation Army stores, with the proceeds going to charity. In some cases, the gadgets are directly donated to the needy, said Mr James Tian, general manager of the Salvation Army Red Shield Industries.

'We appreciate it when people donate their electronics,' said Mr Tian, who added that Singaporeans are 'quite generous'.

Indeed, with so many organisations eager to help you get rid of that clunky desktop and brick-sized mobile phone, there is no excuse to continue letting them rot at home. yeehung@sph.com.sg
links
UN outlines global e-waste goals
BBC 6 Mar 07

UN seeks to save developing world from e-waste
by Bogonko Bosire Yahoo News 26 Nov 06

Mobile phone industry aims to reduce pollution
Yahoo News 21 Sep 06

Can Cell-Phone Recycling Help African Gorillas?
Stefan Lovgren National Geographic 20 Jan 06

Related articles on Singapore: reduce, reuse and recycle
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