Take a stand against illegal recyclers this International E-Waste Day

Illegal recyclers of electronic waste are wreaking havoc on the environment according to Reclite South Africa, one of the leading collectors and recyclers of electronic waste in the country.

At some point or another, your fridge, washing machine and even cell phone will reach what is effectively known as ‘end of lifespan’. At this point, the item simply does not work anymore, and could be discarded of responsibly through licensed recyclers of electronic waste. 

But despite being governed under the National Environmental Waste Act of 2008, “about 80 percent of that material, finds itself on an informal piece of land being burnt or stripped to cherry pick out only the valuable parts.

These parts are illegally sold to scrap dealers,” said Reclite SA managing director, Patricia Schröder.

From here the situation worsens as parts are exported to international markets, some of which follow ‘dirty processes’.

With this in mind, Reclite SA is calling on residents to help raise awareness around the proper disposal of electronic waste on October 14 – International E-Waste Day.

“It is up to us to each take individual responsible action to ensure our waste is handed over to a compliant and responsible recycler,” said Schröder.

Even though there are compliant treatment facilities such as Reclite SA in place, the actual figure received for treatment is approximately 10 to 12% – the rest is illegally managed or ends up in landfills around the country.

But you can make a difference thanks to a partnership between Reclite SA and the International Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Forum.

Through their combined efforts, collection points for electronic waste will be set up throughout the Dolphin Coast region.

These have been sponsored by Dolphin Coast Waste Management, and will be manned on October 14 by teams who will also be educating the public on the importance of electronic waste recycling:

• Tiffany’s shopping centre.
• Ballito Lifestyle centre.
• Ballito Junction regional mall.
• Balvista centre.

The bins will only be manned and available on October 14, from 9am to 3.30pm.

For more information visit www.reclite.co.za.