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SINGAPORE: If you have an old gadget collecting dust at home, you might want to drop it at a SingPost outlet as part of computer-maker HP's first island-wide National Recycling Week.
This is being held in conjunction with the United Nations Environmental Programme's Global Business Summit for the Environment, currently taking place in Singapore.
Copper, platinum, silver and gold - just some of the metals found in old mobile phone, PDAs, and computers that are simply too precious to be thrown away.
So these metals are harvested when unwanted electronic devices are recycled.
According to industry watchers, all equipment can be recycled.
After they are dismantled, copper parts, plastic and aluminium casings are all sorted.
They will then be sold to their respective recyclers to be turned into copper wires and plastic toys.
They can also be smelted and remoulded into casings for new computers.
Of all equipment, monitors should be recycled most because these CRT tubes contain significant amounts of lead.
And lead could end up poisoning groundwater, if it is not properly disposed of.
Another hazard - lead dust could enter human respiratory systems simply by breathing it in.
Therefore it is wise to think twice before throwing away electronic devices.
"If you just dump it down the chute, and let's say the whole thing [crashes], and the PCB oil leaks out. You're not doing justice to the person who's clearing the rubbish, because if he's not protected with proper gear, skin contact and all that, you may get skin irritation, and so forth," says Cori Ong, of CH E-Recycling.
Besides proper disposal of hazardous materials, another reason why one should leave e-waste with reputed recyclers and not the rags-and-bone man, is proper data erasure.
One of the reasons why some people are hesitant to send their personal computers in for recycling, is that they are worried confidential or corporate data left in the hard disc may be left open to unauthorised access.
But reputed recyclers usually have a standard procedure of erasing all data on the hard disc, before refurbishing the computer for reuse.
Currently, most manufacturers like Nokia, HP, IBM and Dell have take-back programmes aimed at reducing their own e-waste.
Most of them work with reputed recyclers certified by national agencies, so there is no need to worry about confidential data left on hard discs being misused.
"It's a good thing to send it to a reputed recycler... who've invested a lot in the process. We understand what is actually in the composition of all these electronic items. So we would plan out how to recycle all these items bit by bit. All the processes in the recycling plant are audited by the MNCs which send items to us for recycling. All the processes are approved by the National Environment Agency," says Cori Ong.
If more electronic devices can be recycled, there will be less wastage of the Earth's limited resources.
For more information about HP Recycling Week, which runs from 19 April until 25 April, and a list of participating SingPost outlets, visit http://h50055.www5.hp.com/ipg/supplies/sg/recycling_promotion.asp
- CNA/yy
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