Recycling conserves environment
Don’t trash that old computer!

A mere $37 is all that is needed to renew an old computer, says Charles Chan. (Antony Tam)

By Antony Tam

Before you dump that dinosaur computer in the waste, stop and think what you are doing to the environment.

Nowadays, computers are normally used for only 2 to 3 years before they are replaced.

And the disposal of old computer parts is causing major environmental problems.

Currently, rubbish collectors recover reusable computer products for secondhand trading while the remaining parts are usually disposed of in landfills.

According to Green Power, an environmental organization, the government dumps over 250,000 computers into Hong Kong landfills every year.

The increase in computer waste is creating a heavy burden on the three landfills in Hong Kong. These are the West New Territories Landfill, the Southeast New Territories Landfill and the Northeast New Territories Landfill.

These three major waste disposal sites handle the thousands of tonnes of trash that are disposed of every day.

Associate Professor Chu Lee Man of the Department of Biology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong is performing research on landfills in Hong Kong.

Prof. Chu said, “Because of their large physical size and their non-compressible nature, the disposal of computer products takes up a large amount of scarce landfill space.

“The current landfills will be full in 8 years if nothing is done to reduce electronic waste.”

Besides just being full, computer waste at landfills could create overflowing environmental problems in toxic form.

Prof. Chu said, “At landfills, if soil particles are saturated with rain water, chemical reactions take place and toxic landfill leachate is formed.”

Landfill leachate contains toxic substances like lead, mercury and cadmium, all of which do harm to the environment.

“Although landfills are installed with impermeable liners to prevent the leakage of landfill leachate,” Prof. Chu continued, “the contaminated liquid is not biodegradable when transferred to wastewater treatment plants.

“The more the computer waste, the worse the quality of processed liquid when it is discharged into the sea.”

To alleviate the burden on landfills in Hong Kong, the Environmental Protection Department launched a 1-year pilot computer recovery and recycling program in January 2003.

Under this program, the department cooperates with Caritas Youth and Community Service, a social service organization, to renew reusable computers and donate them to the needy.

For irreparable computers, useful computer parts are recovered and recycled.

The renewed computers are also put up for charitable sales, and proceeds are put back into the recycling program.

Charles Chan, supervisor of Caritas Jockey Club Integrated Service for Young People, Wong Tai Sin, appreciated that the Environmental Protection Department is funding the program.

In 2003, Caritas received 12,553 pieces of waste computer products such as computers, monitors, printers and scanners.

About 85 percent of the computer products collected were from commercial firms, and the remaining came from individuals.

Mr. Chan said, “Initially, most of the computers were donated by universities and non-profit organizations.

“Recently, there has been an increasing trend of commercial firms giving generous support to us.

“Every day, each part-time worker can renew at least four computers. This is far beyond my expectations.”

Mr. Chan said that voluntary organizations refer needy applicants, usually from the Mainland and from lower income households, to the program to receive computers.

Over 1,000 families have benefited from the program, which was started last year.

Still, Mr. Chan said there is room for improvement.

He suggested that added financial support would enhance the program.

In 2003, the expenditures of the recycling program amounted to $460,000.

The Environmental Protection Department funded nearly 90 percent of the expenditure, and the Jockey Club and Caritas funded the remainder.

Remunerations made up 70 percent of the total expenditure. Refurbishing costs, rent and transportation expenses took up the rest.

Mr. Chan said, “I hope that we can recruit more volunteers to reduce the amount spent on remunerations.”

Mr. Chan’s second concern is that the short duration of the contract signed with the government will make long-term planning difficult.

“The department signed a 1-year contract with us.

“We could only rent a temporary lot on the ground floor of a housing estate.

“We tried to rent a cheaper one in an industrial building, but failed because only 3-year contracts were accepted there.

“As a result, we find it difficult to improve our services,” said Mr. Chan.

The third problem is people’s lack of interest in recycling.

Mr. Chan said, “People have no incentive to donate waste computers for recycling.”

He estimated that the number of computers Caritas collected in 2003 was just 1 percent of the total amount of computers disposed of in Hong Kong in an entire year.

Mr. Chan said, “An average of only $37 is needed to renew a computer, making it reusable.

“We also achieve the social benefits of reducing environmental waste.

“The government should cultivate a recycling culture in Hong Kong and arouse public consciousness on environmental protection as soon as possible.”

In fact, the Environmental Protection Department is undertaking this grand task of promoting computer waste recycling.

It has implemented a wide range of waste reduction and recycling initiatives.

According to the department’s senior information officer, Natalia Leung, in the long run, environmentally sound management of computer waste requires participation of producers and consumers through a product responsibility scheme.

Under the scheme, producers or agents are responsible for reclaiming used computer products and reusing salvaged parts for future production.

Said Ms. Leung: “The department has initiated discussions with producers and retailers to explore the possibility of introducing the scheme in the territory.”

The department has also studied recycling practices in other countries and considered their feasibility in Hong Kong.

Ms. Leung said, “In the U.S., although there is no nationwide system to recover used computer products for recycling, certain states, like California, enacted laws to regulate the disposal of hazardous computer components.

“From July 2004, a levy will be collected when the products are put on the U.S. market, and the money will be used to pay for the cost of collection of end-of-life computer products.”

Man Chi Sum, chief executive officer of Green Power, suggests that the government take an active role in studying the success of U.S. in recycling industries.

The former member of the Waste Reduction Committee of the Environmental Protection Department also suggested the department implement a deposit system in which customers make deposits when purchasing computer products and get them back when they recycle their computers.

“It would encourage consumers to contact producers or agents to recycle the reusable computer parts,” Mr. Man said.

Mr. Man also hopes that producers will offer to upgrade computer parts to discourage consumers from trashing whole computers.

“Although it is more economical to produce a new computer, it is more environmentally friendly to provide upgrading services,” said Mr. Man.

One effective way to promote a recycling culture would be to enact a law.

Said Mr. Man: “Recycling is difficult due to the high operating costs.
“There are no significant economic benefits.

“The government should consider enacting a law to make it compulsory for producers or agents to reclaim reusable computer waste.

“It is the responsibility of manufacturers, sales agents and consumers to reduce the impact of computer waste on the environment by recycling used computer products.”

 

How computers are
recycled at CUHK

By Antony Tam

At The Chinese University of Hong Kong, there is a set of procedures to ensure no reusable computers are thrown away.

However, the process is criticized as being too slow.

Dominic Ho, executive officer of Business Office of the Chinese University, explained the procedures.

When faculties or departments decide to dispose of computers, they need to fill in a disposal application form for the Business Office.

The Business Office then requests an endorsement from the Information Technology Services Centre to make sure the disposal is reasonable.

The centre determines whether the computers are really obsolete.
With the centre’s endorsement, the Business Office collects the old computers and stores them in a central place.

The centre also gives alternatives to the faculties to utilize the computer resources efficiently by upgrading spare parts.

Twice a year, the Business Office organizes bidding on stored computers for faculties and staff.

“We will put the proceeds into the university’s bank account,” said Mr. Ho.

The office donates the remaining computers to non-profit organizations.

Charles Chan, supervisor of Caritas Jockey Club Integrated Service for Young People, Wong Tai Sin, said the bidding process is ineffective.

Mr. Chan said, “It takes nearly a year before the computers reach us.

“Most computers are depreciated and outdated after a year.”

Mr. Ho replied that the computers are stored by the office an average of 3 to 4 months, not a year.

Said Mr. Ho: “The faculties purchased most of the stored computers with better configurations, acutally.

“It is no doubt that the remaining computers are unsatisfactory.”

With the constraints of manpower, Mr. Ho said that bidding every 6 months is reasonable.

“A lot of preparations, like the sorting of information, are necessary.

“Also, a longer time enables us to collect more waste computers. It is also more attractive because we are able to provide more choices for potential buyers,” said Mr. Ho.

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