A wider net to catch e-waste

SINGAPORE — Marine Parade and Mountbatten residents can now discard electronic waste without polluting the environment, thanks to a new programme launched by the South East District yesterday that will let them recycle unwanted appliances.

Singapore produces about 60,000 tonnes of e-waste — discarded electrical or electronic devices — a year, only 1 per cent of the total amount of waste generated. However, the heavy metals in electronic products could result in pollution of the environment if discarded in landfills.

The recycling initiative, called the Heartland E-Waste Recycling Programme pilot, will try to reduce the quantity of heavy metals that will go into the landfill, said Mr Koh Kim Hock, Director-General of the Environmental Protection Division at the National Environment Agency (NEA).

While other similar recycling efforts exist, this is the first scheme to include almost all types of e-waste and is not restricted to certain brands or types of electronics, he said.

Dr Maliki Osman, Mayor of South East District, said consumer e-waste is less frequently recycled due to the lack of convenient collection options available. The pilot will feature a wide range of collection points, including 10 Residents’ Committee (RC) centres, five schools and the Best Denki retail outlet at Parkway Parade. The RC centres will also collect general recyclables such as paper and plastic bottles.

The Marine Parade Town Council will be providing removal services for bulky items such as refrigerators to HDB residents in the district, while Best Denki will collect bulky e-waste islandwide for a fee upon the purchase and delivery of new appliances.

E-waste collected under the programme will be sent to recycler Cimelia to be segregated and for essential raw materials, such as plastics and precious metals, to be retrieved. The general recyclables are then sent to SembWaste for regular recycling.

The programme is part of a six-month trial initiated by Panasonic Asia-Pacific in partnership with South East Community Development Council, the NEA, Best Denki, Cimelia and SembWaste. The programme’s recycling and participation rates will be evaluated to determine the feasibility of extending it nationwide.

Apart from recycling e-waste, the programme boasts a community benefit. Each e-waste item recycled will translate to donations of energy-efficient light bulbs to low-income families. Panasonic will match each small household appliance with one light bulb, information and communications technology devices with two light bulbs and bulky e-waste with three light bulbs — up to a total donation of 5,000 light bulbs.

Part of the proceeds from Best Denki’s disposal service will go to another 1,000 light bulbs, as will monetary incentives under SembWaste’s Cash for Trash programme. The programme will involve youths through talks conducted in schools and students can visit Panasonic and Cimelia facilities. Students will also be roped in to distribute donated light bulbs.

The first e-waste collection drive is on July 14 in conjunction with Marine Parade Town Day.