Almost every day, old computers, mobile phones and other gizmos make way for new ones. Not surprisingly, e-waste is now a fast-growing part of the garbage stream in many countries. If improperly disposed of, the lead,
mercury and other toxic materials inside e-waste can leak from landfills.

Still more needs to be done

As more PCs and other electronics get replaced each year, e-waste dumping is turning into a serious problem, especially in emerging economies where developed countries are said to send their used equipment to.

Research firm Gartner says 37 million secondary PCs were refurbished and exported to emerging markets last year, and this is expected to hit 69 million by 2012.

Rozana Sani finds out more.

DO you know that a single computer contains metals such as lead, mercury, gold and silver as well as many other materials? Some can be recovered and reused, but others, if not treated and discarded properly, can be hazardous to our health and environment.

Daily, thousands of computers come to the end of their use and become e-waste. Not properly dealt with, their long-term effects on health and environment can be toxic.

E-waste under law
In Malaysia, the dangers of e-waste have been acknowledged, spawning action at various levels. At the regulatory level, Dr Abdul Rahman Awang, director of hazardous substances division at the Department of Environment, says used electrical and electronic parts, or commonly known as e-waste, are categorised as scheduled wastes under the code SW 110, First Schedule, Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005.

The SW 110 wastes are defined as those from electrical and electronic parts containing components such as accumulators, mercury switches, glass from cathode-ray tubes and other activated glass or polychlorinated iphenyl capasitors, or contaminated with cadmium, mercury, lead, nickel, chromium, copper, lithium, silver, manganese or polychlorinated byphenyls. E-waste is also listed under codes A1180 and A2010 under Annex VIII, List A of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal 1989.

Initiatives in place
According to Abdul Rahman, as Malaysia is one of the parties to the Basel Convention, the import and export of such waste must follow the procedures of the convention. Importation or exportation of the waste need prior written approval from the Department of Environment as mandated under Section 34B(1)(b) and (c) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, he says.

“As double assurance, we station our officers at Port Klang and Johor Baru to check and act on attempts to bring in e-waste illegally into the country.” Abdul Rahman adds that the law provides that any person who contravenes this section is guilty of an offence, and upon conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years and be liable to a fine not exceeding RM500,000.

For internally generated e-waste, there are 15 licensed facilities that conduct full recovery of acquired e-waste. There are also 126 facilities that do partial recovery where they dismantle and segregate materials that can be processed by the 15 centres.

“These facilities pay for the e-waste collected,” Abdul Rahman says.

Companies such as Nokia, Hewlett-Packard and Samsung offer consumers incentives to return used products to them for recycling.

“On our part, we have done numerous activities. Among them is the handphone and battery recycling project which we carried out two years ago that saw 400 collection bins being placed in Government agencies, offices and selected universities. At the end of that year, we collected two tonnes of discarded batteries which we sent two local recycling facilities,” Abdul Rahman says.

Come July 31, the Department of Environment will team up with the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry Malaysia for an e-waste campaign that will see the collection of unwanted electronics and electrical equipment at selected venues of the next PC Fair, Pikom’s cash-and-carry event.

“Many of the recycling efforts we have been involved in are done on a small-scale effort in areas such as Subang Jaya, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. We’re looking at establishing a hometo- home collection programme in Malacca,” Abdul Rahman says.

He points out that e-waste management is relatively well taken care by the industry, that is the ICT suppliers and providers. It is at the domestic – or rather, household – level that e-waste management is an issue.

“For domestic e-waste collection, we are in discussions with the National Solid Waste Management Department to solve the issue.

The department already has logistics in place, so it is a logical move to get them involved,” he says.

E-waste management framework
The Department of Environment is in the process of coming up with a framework for a uniform e-waste management programme involving industry and domestic segments for nationwide enforcement.

“There are four working groups to look into the various aspects of the proposed programme comprising producers, importers, regulators and experts. Among the things that we’re looking at are the concessionaire agreement for a take-back programme which involves the industry, the mechanism to be put in place, collection, and payment,” Abdul Rahman says.

He adds that the department hopes to have a second industry draft ready by year-end that will pave the way for implementation.

The first draft which saw a skeletal framework presented to those involved was mooted last year.

There are a few modes of payment for the general consumer that would enable effective recycling of e-waste, Abdul Rahman says.

“In Japan, customers are made to pay for e-waste recycling. And in Europe, the cost of recycling is already factored into the price of the equipment at the point of purchase.”

What consumers say

E-waste is dangerous to our health and environment if not treated well. Tech&U talks to consumers on e-waste management in Malaysia.

• Dr Chien-Sing Lee, associate professor, Information Technology Faculty, Multimedia University
After spending six months in the US, the lack of recycling bins was the first thing which struck me as I stepped on Malaysian soil. How do we throw e-waste in Malaysia? Although it’s still at a conceptual stage, I think there are different levels to tackle this problem.

At the macro policy level, there are regulations on recycling e-waste in Hong Kong, China, the US and Europe. I’m not sure how far Malaysia has adopted or adapted such regulations, or if it is part of existing conventions on e-waste recycling.

There is not enough information on this.

I think Malaysians know that we need to recycle, but the Government or non-governmental organisations need to create more awareness through the mass media on how and where we can recycle different materials. We should also provide recycling bins in more places, especially in universities and shopping centres.

Most companies in Malaysia do not inform the public of any takeback of e-waste, either. Maybe the Government should provide incentives to encourage them to take back e-waste. Functionally good products – not pieces of junk – can be donated to the underprivileged, too.

• Siti Bahijah Bakhtiar, assistant director, environmental education unit, curriculum development division, Education Ministry
At a personal level, I discard my e-waste at the same place I throw my domestic waste. This is because no one wants the e-waste, and they don’t know what to do with it when I give it to them.

I feel Malaysia should have a proper e-waste management programme comprising the 3Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle.

Enforcement is also essential.

The Government can set up any policies, Acts, rules and regulations on e-waste management, but unless enforcement is strong, the public would just disregard them.

Malaysians should also learn how to repair broken electronic items so they can be reused or be sold as second-hand products.

• Danny Foo, director, Simpleet Solutions (a Web design company)
I usually throw away old monitors at the neighbourhood computer shop for them to reclaim as spare parts. I also take the monitors to the IT Hypermart where they have a recycling campaign, but it’s far away.

Having a proper e-waste management programme should help.

It should comprise easy-to-reach drop-off points.

The Government can also look into a monetary reward scheme to encourage people to recycle. Items that have become outdated but still functioning could be donated to the needy and this indirectly encourages IT adoption.

• Adrianna Khalid, employee of a multinational firm
A comprehensive e-waste management will be beneficial, especially for companies with high usage of computers and office equipment. Most of them have scheduled refresh programmes which require proper disposal of confidential data and equipment in an environment-friendly way. But there are not many reputable disposal companies around.

The Chinese government has implemented a new regulation on PC disposal to address environmental concerns. It is time Malaysia does the same, initiating e-waste recycling and promoting corporate social responsibility.

• Tina Fazlita Fadzil, executive director, TG Corporate Services Sdn Bhd
Generally, I give away no-longerused TV sets, printers, fax machines, telephones, microwaves, and digital clocks.

Usually I will give them away to scrap collectors or drop them off at City Hall’s communal bins.

First fuel-cell craft takes flight

The world’s first piloted aircraft capable of taking to the air using only fuel cells took off in Germany last week, producing zero carbon dioxide emissions, its makers said.

Developed by the DLR, Lange Aviation, BASF Fuel Cells and Denmark’s Serenergy, the Antares DLR-H2 motor glider has a range of 750 kilometres and can fly for five hours.

The system uses hydrogen as its fuel, and this is converted into electrical energy in a direct, electrochemical reaction with oxygen in the ambient air, without any combustion.

The only by-product is water, and if the hydrogen fuel is produced using renewable energy sources, then the motor glider is genuinely CO2-free, the DLR said. – AFP