‘Educate public on tackling e-waste’

PETALING JAYA: While many Malaysians are aware that e-waste can be harmful if mishandled, few of them know where and how to properly dispose of unwanted electrical and electronic items.Media coordinator Hana Jimi from Shah Alam said she never used to think about it until she came across reports on the problems of e-waste.“Even after I realised that I shouldn’t be discarding e-waste like other rubbish, I don’t know what is the right channel to do it properly.“In my hometown in Gemencheh, my family used to discard bulky electronic items by selling them to a collector,” said the 30-year-old.

The authorities, said Hana, must go big on a campaign to educate the public on e-waste disposal.Sharing Hana’s opinion is Ipoh resident David Chen, 41, who bought a new mobile phone last month. “I haven’t thrown away the old phone because I don’t know where to discard it. In fact, I still have several of my old and faulty phones from years ago.

“I just don’t think it’s okay to throw them away as I do with other types of waste,” he said.The tractor operator from Jelapang said that while he had seen e-waste collection points at malls in Kuala Lumpur, there was none where he lives.Chen said more needed to be done to create awareness among consumers, especially those in rural areas.

“While it is the consumers’ responsibility to dispose of e-waste properly, I think the authorities should help them get rid of the bulky items because the logistics can be a problem,’’ he said.Customer service executive Zurainah Mohd agreed that consumers should be responsible for disposing of e-waste properly. “We are the ones who benefited from using these electronic devices and appliances. It is only right that we get rid of the items ourselves through the right channel,” said the 25-year-old.She said that while many Malaysians were already familiar with the concept of recycling, very little attention was given to the proper methods of discarding e-waste.

Comic artist Wilson Lew, from Kuala Lumpur, said most e-waste kiosks at shopping malls were not prominent or attractive enough.The 35-year-old said he would not have noticed e-waste drop-off kiosks at malls if he had not been told about the locations.“This is definitely a good effort, which is also a private effort. The government needs to do more to promote e-waste management, just like how it has advocated the 3Rs (reduce,reuse, recycle).“If people don’t know, they won’t care,” he said.Film producer Danish Muhammad, 40, said e-waste kiosks should be set up at convenient spots to make it easier for people to drop off their unwanted devices.“Perhaps a drop box can be set up at parking areas in malls, other than inside the building. People can just leave their e-waste and drive off after that,” he said.