It is no big fact that in today’s world the turnover of electronic devices is huge and this is partly because of an increase in the new technology introduction that is being done every day which also inspires us to make or feel the older devices to be irrelevant according to the present world’s needs. This is also because of the natural wear and Tear-out devices experience. In today’s blog, we are going to talk about – electronic waste recycling Singapore, in which we are going to mainly focus on the electronic waste recycling part because it needs a big amount of awareness among people.
The lifespan of Electronics on average is predicted to be about 11.8 years when it comes to laptops, about 6.5 years for a normal desktop computer and roughly about five years for a tablet and two years for a smartphone. The huge increase that has been encountered in the increase of electronic waste around the world is also because of these short spans of electronics. In one of the reports submitted by the United Nations University, the annual accumulation of electronic waste around the world has now reached about 49.3 million tonnes and in the year 2021, it was predicted to be reaching about 57.5 million tons. Doesn’t that seem an extremely alarming situation?
The first thing that we need to understand as a reader and as a responsible individual is that when it comes to Electronic waste items or e-waste then all electronics that are at the end of their useful lifespan can be considered as one. A computer that is now considered outdated can also be included as electronic waste or a VCR that is no longer relevant or is useful to the owner is also an electronic waste item. You will be surprised to know that almost a hundred per cent of the electronic waste that we have mentioned or you can imagine are 100% recyclable. That is possible even if the device isn’t in running condition as it consists of materials like plastic, metal, glass, Palladium, copper, silver and even gold parts that can be recovered and reused in other electronic manufacturing processes. According to one report that was submitted by EPA every million cell phones that are recycled from them about 75 pounds of gold, 35000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered from it.
What is the process of recycling old electronics?
When you opt for recycling your device it also means that you are ready to get rid of them in a safe manner that also makes it possible for the device to be reused. In many countries, there is a law according to which it has been declared illegal to dispose of these Electronics in regular garbage for recycling Bin. Steps like these need to be taken more often in order to curb the disaster that has already been created in the form of electronic waste. One of the big reasons why these steps need to be more popular is because electronic products contain toxic substances like mercury, lead and cadmium that need a proper disposable process to be followed when handling them.
The three most safe and people-friendly ways of recycling electronic devices have been stated below:-
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Hand over your electronic devices to tech companies in order to get them recycled or you can also have them over to designated recyclers yourself. There are many Tech organisations that work in order to get electronics that are no longer in use get recycled. They offer recycling programs in order to make it easier for consumers to reach out to them. There are also organisations that also offer incentives for recycling their devices with them. There are other forms of just simply supply sites where you can drop off your technology or mail them in order to get the item recycled.
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You can also donate your electronic device to someone in need. This is an excellent method to make the device reusable because if your device is still in a functional position and in some cases even if it’s not then donating it to someone needy can be an excellent step for reusing that item.
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There is another option that you can choose to get your old electronics handed over to you as a responsible person which in that case would be the recycler himself. Anyone who does not have access to the above-suggested solution can go for this one as you can always find an electronic recycler which is in your vicinity.
Things to be kept in mind before handing over your device for the recycling process:-
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Backup your data
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Remove any attached storage device if any
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Wipe off all your data
Recycling is an excellent method when it comes to finding solutions in order to resolve the problem of electronic waste and we hope that our blog regarding – electronic waste recycling Singapore, will prove to be a great read.