toxic contamination: keeping tvs, computers, electronic waste out of landfills - small electrical appliances

With an ever-
More and more electronic devices soon become obsolete.
Waste has become a serious problem.
Some of the most dangerous waste is produced by you and me.
Our old fluorescent lamp
Computers and laptopsMobile phones. Batteries. Refrigerators. Air-conditioners. TVs.
These unwanted electronics and appliances
When waste is left on the side of the road or in the recycling center, they disappear quickly because they contain reusable plastics, metals, and even precious metals such as gold and silver.
But they also contain harmful substances, such as lead, mercury, cadmium and PCBs, which pose a threat to health and the environment if the product is not properly handled during recycling or when dumped carelessly.
As manufacturers produce new technologies and appliances that consumers are snapping up quickly, a large number of electronic products
Waste is left behind.
Unfortunately, there is still a lot of work to be done to address the infrastructure of mountain issues.
Environment (DOE)
Working on e-commerce
Waste problem, it was not until last year that the first draft of regulations governing e-commerce was formulated
Waste from homes, business districts and institutions.
New legislation usually takes several rounds of rewriting before any company is formed, so don't expect to see it soon.
Nevertheless, the director of the Department of Energy
General Datuk Halimah Hassan said that the target implementation date for the proposed environmental quality (
Household garbage)
The regulation is 2018.
With thousands of polluting industries being discovered by the police, hazardous waste discarded from homes, shopping malls and offices is the last thing the Department of Energy wants to see, which is understandable. E-
Environmental quality only increases waste (
Planned waste)
The regulations were in 2005, but industries such as legislation were dealt.
Doe has set up a system to review emails
Industrial waste (
They have to report the volume and send an email
Waste from licensed recycling facilities)
But for e-
Waste of the public.
"Since our laws allow us to go to industrial places but not to go to families, our mechanisms and infrastructure have not yet arrived at the home," Halimah explained . ".
The Department of Energy hopes to change this through the proposed regulations. E-
Waste from these uncontrolled sources increased from 652,909 tons in 2006 to 688,068 tons in 2008.
"We are worried about the number of e-commerce
Waste is growing rapidly, "said Halimah.
She agreed that the regulation would draw on the principles of "paid by polluters" and "shared responsibility.
Therefore, it will burden the sound management of e-commerce.
Waste on everyone: manufacturers, importers, retailers, waste collectors, recyclers and consumers.
The responsibility of these stakeholders will be clarified.
"Everyone will play a role.
For example, consumers will be responsible for sending their old electronics and appliances to the collection center.
The manufacturer will be responsible for the extension of the producer "(EPR).
They can't just produce and sell, they have to be responsible for the end. of-
The life stage of their products.
This will force them to consider environmental factors in their design.
The regulation will initially cover old TVs, PCs and laptops, mobile phones, washing machines, air conditioners.
Air conditioning, refrigerators, rechargeable batteries and fluorescent lamps.
Other products will be added later.
There will certainly be some sort of recycling or processing fee to cover the cost of managing e-commerce
Waste from homes, business districts and institutions.
Norhazni Mat Sari, director of the Department of hazardous substances at Doe, said the collection system could include delivery
Retail stores or hypermarkets, NGO collection centers, takeout points for manufacturers
The solid waste franchisee conducts a recycling plan or collection on a specified date.
"We want to build a system where people can send emails
Waste and make sure it is collected.
We do not want garbage to be taken away on the road or taken away by informal People (unregistered)
Recycling Department.
Apparently someone should pay for the email
Recycling and disposal of waste, but who?
Recycling fees can be included in the price of the product or paid by consumers when they buy a TV or laptop, such as starting e-commerce in California
Waste Recovery Plan for 2005.
Other states in the United States, however, let electronics manufacturers pay.
The industry has developed a recycling plan, and some states require the recycling quota to be met (
Based on sales).
The problem here is that manufacturers can pass on additional costs to customers at a higher price.
In Japan, consumers pay back when they put down their old appliances (
TV, refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioningconditioners)
In a retail store or collection center.
The recycling fund can be used to subsidize the management or disposal of non-profitable e-
Waste such as cathode ray tubes, batteries, lamps and refrigerators.
She also said the government had no plans to subsidize e-commerceWaste recyclers;
It prefers the EPR method.
There are many ways to deal with e-commerce
Waste and all aspects that need to be considered, Doe seeks help from Japan's International Cooperation Organization
Operating Organization (JICA)
Identify which ones are valid for Malaysia.
A memorandum of understanding was signed earlier this month to conduct a study to determine the most appropriate way to collect emails
Waste, funding recovery and disposal, and reporting quantity.
The project will take two and a half years.
At the same time, it may be a good idea to re-evaluate our obsession with new technology equipment and household appliances.
We are producing, using and throwing something and we cannot discard them properly when they are no longer available.
Next Article: The correct way to deal with e-commerce
To prevent waste released by toxic substances. -->>E-
Waste needs to be properly disposed of to prevent them from filling the landfill and releasing toxic substances into the environment.
Most people donate electronics and think they do the right thing about the environment, but often they don't know what to expect once the product falls off.
Even civil society groups that carry out recycling often do not pay attention to the final destination of waste-most of them are just middle men who sell to the best prices.
This means that the laptop you discard with due diligence is likely to end up being a heavily polluted backyard recycler.
Environment (DOE)
Authorized 146 e-
24,000 tons of waste recovery facilities can be processed per month.
128 of them are small. and medium-
Medium-sized operators that carry out partial recycling-dismantle products to recycle plastics and metals, and other components that will be sold to another recycler for further processing.
The other 18 are complete recycling facilities for chemical processing.
What is worrying is the "informal sector"-the polite name of an illegal or unregistered recycling facility.
Dr Theng Lee Chong, a waste management expert, visited these places and found that they lacked-
Pollution prevention measures
"When it rains, the contaminated leachate will flow out.
When they remove the refrigerator, the CFCs (
Refrigerant that consumes the atmospheric ozone layer)are released.
"These backyard recyclers are looking for materials they can sell and discard the rest.
For example, for TV and display, they break the cathode ray tube, put the metal in it, and discharge mercury dust on it. The lead-
Pour glass.
DOE officials did check these places, but since they are scrap stations and not industrial sites, they are not within the scope of the department.
They are considered to handle a large number of emails. waste.
"They can get a lot of emails.
Because the price they paid was higher than ours, it was wasted, "said Jason Yee, a licensed recycler.
"They can do that because they don't have to comply with the Department of Energy's security requirements.
They do not need to pay the disposal fee to Kualiti Alam. ” (
The remaining hazardous waste after recycling must be safely disposed of at the Kualiti Alam landfill site in the port of Negri sembilandickson. )
While it's great that phones and computers are recycled (
Because of their precious metal content)
, Electrical appliances with little recycling value or high recycling cost are ignored and can only be piled up in waste yards and landfill sites.
White garbage such as washing machines and refrigerators is generally of little value. One e-
Waste that can't see the solution is fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).
Even if all components can be recycled, these components will not be recycled at all.
None of the recyclers or lamp manufacturers have invested in specialized machines-it crushed the lights and then screened and separated the glass, aluminum and Mercury for reuse-which would cost some RM2mil
In addition, due to the lack of an appropriate collection system, the volume of the old lights is too small to reduce the cost of recyclingeffective.
As a result, almost all the fluorescent lamps we don't want are thrown away by garbage and eventually destroyed by landfill sites, releasing toxic mercury steam.
Industry data show that about 70 million fluorescent lamps are sold each year, Theng said.
"After all these disposal, more than 500 kg of Mercury will be released to the environment.
He learned that a local authority replaced 7,000 lights a year, all of which were placed in a dump.
Even if the old lights were recovered by the well
This means the Green Movement of NGOs and businesses, who will eventually still end up at the Kualiti Alam landfill.
Where the lights are crushed and mixed with cement
Fill the drums like matter and bury them underground.
Voluntary collection of lights is just a movement for Theng, not a sustainable project that can solve the problem.
He said that managing suchprofitable e-
Waste requires government participation and support.
"Recycling of electronic products
Waste is not always profitable.
Due to the presence of hazardous substances, the recycler must follow many safety procedures.
This drives up costs.
Even overseas recovery facilities do not make money, and some are subsidized.