What comes in your mind when you hear about zero waste. Recently, there has been a talk about this concept of Zero-waste, but there is a misconception that surrounds it, zero waste does not mean that there should be no waste, it simply means that there should be minimum wastage and more focus should be on maximum utilization of the product. When a device goes into making, it takes into it a lot of things like plastics, screws, wires, circuits metals and a number of things to mention. Many of these have been discussed in our blog – zero-waste Singapore and hence, it helps in achieving a sustainable future that has a sea of opportunities for the future generation.
The technology is changing its face every day, every day there are new products, new devices and with that comes a new zeal to get these new products. This part is which is very alarming, as the purchasing capacity has increased worldwide, so has the craze of buying new products. This practice has given birth or shall we say has accelerated the problem of e-waste. The electronic waste has a lot of potential to pose an enormous threat to the environment, be it from the plastics, disposed or untreated glass parts or unattended heavy metals which if enter the food chain from the soil, then in plants and ultimately in the human body can prove to be fatal. Understanding all these problems there is a dire need of resolving these issues otherwise there is no doubt that sooner or later the implication of the electronic waste will start to affect us in the worst possible way, which to some extent has already started also.
Effects of electronic waste on our lives:
- The making of electronics involves a lot of precious metals like silver. The mining of these metals requires a lot of resources, harms the environment and pollutes the atmosphere also. So if we are able to use the precious metals used in these electronic devices then we save our environment and resources from useless mining and that would mean to move a step closer to a sustainable future.
- The electronic devices like laptops, mobiles, tablets etc also use heavy metals like mercury and cadmium. These metals are so dangerous to humans that when a human comes in direct contact with mercury can have a serious paralysis. So it is very important that these heavy metals are taken care of very carefully and are not left to seep into our environment because a sustainable future can only be achieved by having healthy bodies and strong minds. Though there has been a lot of talk at the international level with respect to the problem of treating heavy metals. There have been talks of finding an alternative solution to the use of heavy metals till then a unanimously accepted limit has been set for the manufacturer so that if there has to be the use of heavy metals in the production of the electronic devices it is done in a controlled manner and controlled environment.
- There has to be a lot of awareness among the people about their electronic devices and how to dispose of them. But this is a collective responsibility and every stakeholder from the government to the producer to retailers to customers should be made a part of it. The manufacturer must involve the production that done keeping the safeguards of the environment in mind, the retailers who are the most critical connection between the producer and the customer to the let the customers know what should they do if they want to dispose of their devices and lastly the customers who use these devices, they must also follow the proper regulation that will be set to ensure the correct disposal of the electronic device. All these levels have to work in a framework that must be designed by the government. It is the government that should make rules and regulations to address this problem and also take care that the regulations made in respect of the handling the disposal of electronic waste are carried in the prescribed manner. All these things and endeavours along with zero-waste will ensure a better future.
- There is no denying of the fact that many efforts are already being carried out in various parts of the world to deal with the problem of electronic waste. Through our blog – zero-waste Singapore we want to tell you that people are slowly and steadily moving towards zero-waste, they have started by setting up bins where anyone who wishes to give away their devices can drop them or they even provide doorstep service where after answering some answers an executive will come at your doorstep and take away your device. Then at the recycling centres, they check the device thoroughly and analyse if the product can be refurbished.
We all crave for a healthy future which is sustainable for the future generations, in order to ensure this, the discussion provided in – zero-waste Singapore can prove to be beneficial for many.