Subsidising the new with the old

Incredible Connection is continuing its annual trade-in campaign this month, in an effort to increase consumer awareness of the need for responsible e-waste disposal.

EnviroConnection - a partnership between Incredible Connection and accredited electronic waste disposer Desco Electronic Recyclers - will dispose of technology items that consumers don't need, in an “environmentally-safe and responsible manner”.

Units that are marked for destruction are manually stripped into the various components (plastic, metal, etc). “The recycling process is also a labour-intensive process, which provides much-needed job opportunities,” says Incredible Connection.

The individual components are then sold to manufacturers of new products that smelt the metals and chip the plastics into new products. Technology items that are still working are reconditioned and donated to charitable causes.

According to Incredible Connection, it's estimated that approximately 75% of all e-waste in SA is sitting in garages or rooms in private homes due to a lack of knowledge by the public as to how to dispose of it.

Informal processing of e-waste can cause serious health and pollution problems, through contaminants such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, mercury and brominated flame-retardant plastics, as these can find their way into landfill sites, where groundwater contamination and physical exposure can also be a problem.

Incredible Connection's trade-in campaign encourages consumers to get rid of obsolete items of technology in an environmentally-safe way - whether or not the items were bought at Incredible Connection.

“As a major technology vendor, in a society that has become obsessed with the digital era where all electronic goods have become consumable goods, we feel a greater responsibility towards consumer education on e-waste,” says Incredible Connection chief executive Dave Miller.

The company last year collected 91 tonnes of e-waste, compared to only 19 tonnes in 2009 from its 55 stores countrywide. This year, the company is optimistic the tonnage will increase substantially through the year-long campaign and more especially during the trade-in month of February.

Consumers bringing in their old technology items will get significant discounts on new purchases as part of the incentive to dispose of e-waste responsibly. Discounts are given on a variety of items, from e-readers, laptops and PCs, to cameras.

“The individual products that the discounts relate to are available on our Facebook page, Web site and our in-store pamphlets,” says Incredible Connection.

All Incredible Connection stores within SA have e-waste collection bins, which are hosted and cleared throughout the year.

According to the e-Waste Assessment SA report, e-waste volumes are expected to increase significantly in SA in the near future. This expected increase is compounded by the challenges SA faces at the level of consumer awareness, collection, recycling processes, and the disposal of e-waste.

“These concerns call for collective action in dealing with the e-waste challenge in SA, including developing appropriate policy and legislation, and a practical e-waste management solution, which has the buy-in of all stakeholders,” said the report.

The e-Waste Association of SA (eWASA) was established in 2008 to manage the establishment of a sustainable environmentally sound e-waste management system for the country. eWASA has partnered with a number of local organisations and companies in order to improve e-waste management across the country.

Companies involved include Makro, Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Wildlife and Environment Society of SA and Nokia. While Makro and selected Pick n Pay Hypermarkets offer full e-waste disposal services, Woolworths focuses on compact florescent lamps (CFLs), while Wessa collects CFLs and both mercury and rechargeable batteries. Nokia provides disposal mechanisms for all mobile phones.