Discard your phones the e-green way

30 November 2013| last updated at 11:00PM

THE year-end holiday and shopping season is also gift-giving time. These are often replacements or upgrades to our electronic gadgets. So, what should we do with our old hand phones and other electronics collecting dust in our drawers? If it still works, pass it to someone who can use it. If not, then recycle. But do you see many recycling bins around?

In my experience, they seem to be hidden in out-of-the-way care centres. While mobile phone companies and telcos in the country do have recycling programmes, I noticed that their bins are not commonplace or the programme is for a limited time only.

In Malaysia, Nokia collects used phones and sends them to a recycling plant in Penang. According to Francis Cheong, senior manager for regional sustainability at Nokia Asia-Pacific: "All phones and accessories sent to our vendor facilities in Penang are recycled with almost 100 per cent of the materials recovered for re-use in other products. None are resold as second hand products."

The plastic casings are segregated at their vendor facilities and then forwarded to a local plastic recycler, which then converts them to plastic pallets ready to be used again in many other products. After removing certain elements, the LCDs are disposed of as "scheduled wastes" to Kualiti Alam for final treatment and disposal.

SIM cards, which contain precious metals, are recycled and base materials recovered together with all printed circuit boards. The precious metals are extracted and then sold to various industries for re-use. For example, gold is sold to jewellers or banks.

All parts of the phones are recycled at the Penang facility except for the batteries which are sent to an e-waste recycling plant in Singapore for recovery of the lithium and cobalt salts. This plant has the only patented lithium ion battery recycling system using hydro technology in this part of the world.

Almost 97 per cent of a hand phone can be recycled for plastic, ferrous metals and lithium among other things. Only its LCD screen is non-recyclable because of its heavy metals content. Find out more about a hand phone's afterlife at http://asia.cnet.com/a-mobile-phones-afterlife-62059584.htm. Recycling used electronics means that they won't end up in landfills.

While old phones and computers can be dismantled to extract the useful metals inside, doing it safely is time-consuming. That's why a lot of e-waste from the United States is exported to Guiyu, China (http://content.time.com/ time/magazine/article/ 0,9171,1870485,00.html) -- a recycling hub where peasants heat circuit boards over coal fires to recover lead, while others use acid to burn off bits of gold. Guiyu also has the highest level of cancer-causing dioxins in the world and elevated rates of miscarriages according to reports from nearby Shantou University.

As consumers, we would be wise to think about what happens to the electronic device we discard before we even consider buying a new one.

So, how do you ensure that your old phone doesn't end up poisoning a kid in China? If it's still in good working condition, hand it down or resell it on the second-hand market. If it's broken, don't put it in the garbage. Find out if your retailer or manufacturer offers free recycling.

Recycling e-waste is vital not only for the environment but for the manufacturing industry as well. It prevents e-waste from ending up in landfills and contaminating the environment with toxic and heavy metals. Recycling also helps reduce the need to create or mine raw materials for new products, which reduces manufacturing costs.

For manufacturers, to pitch electronic products as green or complying with the law isn't enough. Neither is following regulations such as restricting lead and cadmium. Removing all or most substances of high concern rather than a few prohibited ones is. These include chemicals that are potentially harmful to human health or the environment.

It would be ideal if recycle bins for phones are as commonplace as hand phone shops. Even better if manufacturers and telcos offer year-round recycling, take back or trade-up programmes in high traffic areas. Focusing on planned longevity -- rather than planned obsolescence -- of the device will minimise its energy impact. This is the kind of sustainable design we want to see more of.

Rather than shopping for something hot off the manufacturing line this holidays, don't upgrade your old phone (or computer or TV) for a little while longer. It may not be in the generous holiday spirit, but it certainly fits the new e-green one. Our children will thank us for this when they live in a future free from overflowing landfills and incinerators.

Rather than buying the latest smartphone and other gadgets, this holidays, try keeping your old phone for a little while longer. AFP pic

Read more: Discard your phones the e-green way - Columnist - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/discard-your-phones-the-e-green-way-1.416430#ixzz2tZF7d9De

Sungai Kundang polluters fined

15 November 2013

WORRYING TREND: MPS team catches operators of 3 premises dumping waste into river

RAWANG: THREE premises that had been polluting Sungai Kundang were ordered to be shut down  after a raid by  Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) yesterday.

Situated in the same vicinity as two other premises which had dumped toxic waste and oil into the same river recently, MPS special task force chief Paramasivam Chelliah said the trend was worrying as Sungai Kundang was the main water source for Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya residents.

"We issued compounds and notices amounting to RM100,000 to the perpetrators."

MPS president Mohd Azizi Mohd Zain had recently pledged to curb river pollution by inspecting premises under MPS's jurisdiction.

A team of journalists, who joined the raiding party, saw how dirty the premises were.

The first raid was carried out at a pork processing shack that also reared fish.

The owner, known only as Goh, said he skinned and cut up pork to be sold, along with the fish.

He said he fed the fish, reared in cages in the river, with internal organs of pigs.

"The water is clean. If the fish do not finish eating the pig intestines, the leftovers will settle at the bottom.

"Therefore, the top part of the water is clean. How can you say I am polluting the river?"

When leaving the premises, the raiding party was tipped off about a nearby fu chok (dried beancurd) producing shack that had also dumped remnants into the river.

The fu chok, which were being dried on sticks at the premises, emitted a terrible stench.

The raiding team discovered that chemicals used to process the fu chok were flowing into a small stream which led to Sungai Kundang.

The third and final raid revealed that a factory set up to recycle waste materials had dug a special drainage system to enable harmful chemicals to flow into Sungai Kundang.

"We checked the drain. The grass on either side of it was dead. They were brown and dried up.

"We suspect the chemicals are poisonous," said Paramasivam.

Read more: Sungai Kundang polluters fined - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/sungai-kundang-polluters-fined-1.401367#ixzz2tZ9ZIOq7