How do I recycle a fried modem?
tipputih messaged me today asking me how to go about discarding her old modem (fried thanks to our tropical weather in Kuala Lumpur). I didn't have a good a answer for this one, and it got me thinking. Recycling hasn't taken off in KL, despite what the authorities may claim. We're still stuck with the worries of cost factors, and a poor level of public awareness.
Here's an interesting fact, thanks to The Malaysian Nature Society:
*p/s: I'm not sure how tipputih eventually discarded her modem - it probably ended up in her trash; but then again, who's to blame?
Here's an interesting fact, thanks to The Malaysian Nature Society:
About half of the garbage generated from household is recyclable, including about 30% from newspapers and waste paper. Nationally, 43,000 tons of plastics, 57,000 tons of paper and 8,000 tons of glass are discarded every month, and all of these are recyclable.It's got to start at home. Rather than asking where to go about discarding certain things, we should just be able to discard them into our bins, at HOME. The local municipalities ought to factor in the cost of placing these recycling bins in each home - find a way to incentivise the people to use it, and we could be on our way to doing our share for the environment. Whoever's in charge of things, should stop kidding themselves with the idea that public apathy is to blame - definitely not in a capitalist world.
*p/s: I'm not sure how tipputih eventually discarded her modem - it probably ended up in her trash; but then again, who's to blame?
posted by Praveen at
11:54 PM
2 Comments:
Interesting! I have an old computer that's been sitting on the floor, under my study desk for a very long time. Taking that the computer was built before the 2003, where an agreement was made to reduce the amount of heavy metals in end-of-life electronics (nerdy stuff), I don't suppose throwing it out in our trash bins would be a wise idea. Hence, the block which i conveniently use as a footstool, is a piece of hazardouse waste which we would not dipose with our daily litter. In this part of the world, I am sure no one has heard of a transfer station, a place where we pay to dispose waste that is not destined to be in a municipal landfill. To pay to dispose our used AA batteries? Absurd! The thought of paying to discard is unthinkable in this society's mentality. So what do we do? Contact the manufacturer. If it's a large corporation, they should take it off your hands...I think?!?!?
LOL. I had a similar footstool made out of an old hi-fi set. Similarly, I found great difficulty in disposing it the right way.
Paying to dispose is definitely unthinkable. I wasn't aware of transfer stations until you brought it up - thanks for the cue. (google: transfer stations)
Getting support from manufacturers is probably the best way forward. Back in 2002, we had to discard many old PCs and servers as part of an office relocation. Thankfully at that time, we found out about Dell's recycling programme. They picked up over 30 units of machines irrespective of its make/model, and managed the entire process over 3 business days. While we didn't make anything out of it, it was the best decision we made towards caring for the environment.
Post a Comment
<< Home