This mountain of E-Waste that you can see is growing ever bigger.
You don’t want to think about how much the toxic chemicals from this deteriorating waste are contaminating the environment.
It means that every living thing, including, you is at greater risk to encounter these toxic chemicals.
It cannot be denied that one reason for the ever-increasing volumes of electronic waste, is our behavior with regard to electronic equipment, excessively trying to keep up with tech trends. An old handset is not even broken before a new one is purchased, or there is no attempt to repair it for further use to save money. Thus, the old handset quickly becomes waste.
It also comes from behavior disposing of electronic waste incorrectly, especially by mixing it up with ordinary waste, so it is not properly dealt with. Instead of being recycled, it becomes ever-increasing trash waiting for landfill.
This can be clearly seen on the Pollution Control Department’s report on environmental quality. This estimates that in 2020, Thailand generated 656,000 tons of hazardous waste in the community. As such, it is a 1.6% increase on the previous year, when electronic waste totaled 428,000 tons, or 65% of all hazardous waste.
The latest UN Global E-Waste Monitor 2020 report disclosed that in 2019, the continent of Asia produced the highest amount of electronic waste at 24.9 million tons, followed by the Americas at 13.1 million tons, Europe at 12 million tons, Africa at 2.9 million tons, and Oceania at 0.7 million tons respectively.
Will we continue to allow electronic waste to keep piling up?
Dispose of E-Waste at AIS drop points nationwide
On the occasion of World Environment Day, we would like to invite you to make small changes for the benefit of our planet. Such efforts should start with using electronic equipment in a cost-effective way, and repairing damaged devices instead of buying new ones. Electronic waste should also be separated from, and not disposed of together with regular waste, so it can be recycled for future benefit.
This should start with you sifting through electronic waste at home such as old mobile phones / tablets, mobile phone batteries, power banks, charging cables and earphones. Bring them to AIS’ E-Waste drop points, by checking your nearest AIS drop point on https://ewastethailand.com/drop-point/, or collect your electronic waste together for disposal with postal staff at your home (in just 2 easy steps! https://ewastethailand.com/2step-takeaway/)
Essential precautions
to dispose of your E-Waste safely:
Delete data and pictures
from your phone or tablet
Remove the memory card
every time
If you notice a swollen battery, soak it in water for 5 hours to reduce its charge, and put it in a bag or wrap it in paper before disposal.
Before disposing of your electronic waste, and particularly mobile phones or tablets, erase all your data and remove any memory cards every time, and follow the other steps detailed in the picture above.
Search for electronic waste
Mission E-Waste (sible)
AIS Sustainability fan page
Win a canvas cloth bag
20 prizes available
Total value of 7,000 baht
Join the activity from 5 June to 15 June 2021
We also have great activities for you! If you have collected electronic waste in your home, don’t forget to join in the fun in the search for electronic waste, Mission E-Waste (sible), on the AIS Sustainability Facebook fan page.
If you have sharp eyesight, look at the electronic waste AIS is disposing in the picture. How many pieces are there, and what are they? Post your replies in the comments, don’t forget to press “Like” and share the post, tagging it as “Public” and adding the hashtags #คนไทยไร้EWaste #MissionEWastesible
We will hold a draw for 20 lucky winners. Any who give the correct answer will receive a environmentally-friendly canvas bag which is both easy to carry and holds everything, worth 350 baht each. All 20 prizes are worth 7,000 baht in total.
Join in the fun from today until 15 June 2021. For more details click here
#คนไทยไร้EWaste #ThaissaynotoEWaste #WorldEnvironmentDay #วันสิ่งแวดล้อมโลก
References:
1. Pollution Control Department https://www.pcd.go.th/pcd_news/11873/
2. International Telecommunication Union https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Environment/Pages/Spotlight/Global-Ewaste-Monitor-2020.aspx
