For South African consumers, dealing with e-waste is rapidly becoming as simple as dropping it off at the closest electronics store.
E-waste is old, unused or defunct electronics, including devices like cellphones and computers, as well as electronic home appliances such as blenders. It contains hazardous materials which can harm the environment if simply thrown in the bin, as well as valuable components and metals which can be harvested and re-used to avoid wasting non-renewable resources.
Many South African retail chains are assisting customers in disposing of their e-waste in an economic and environmentally-responsible manner by offering collection facilities in their stores.
Lifestyle technology store DionWired offers customers a tech trade-in service, whereby they can trade in their phones and tablets for store credit. The devices are then passed on to manufacturers that refurbish them for resale, extending their lifespan and offering other customers revamped second-hand devices at a fraction of their original cost.
DionWired's service provider for delivering devices to customers offers to remove and responsibly dispose of old appliances when delivering new ones - such as fridges - at no additional cost.
The retailer is also taking steps to reduce its stores' energy consumption. Electricity usage at DionWired stores is being drastically reduced by decreasing store size, switching to energy-efficient LED lighting systems, and installing ceilings with insulation against external temperatures, lessening the need for air-conditioning.
"In the two months since the revamp of our Woodmead [Johannesburg] store, we have reduced electricity cost on previous months by 60%," says DionWired regional operations manager Heindrich Willers.
DionWired sister company Makro in 2008 unveiled an e-waste collection programme, which has since recycled over 600 tonnes of e-waste, it boasts. Makro stores house e-waste bins into which users can dump their unwanted electronics.
Electronics retailer Hi-Fi Corp in 2011 appealed to customers to dispose of their e-waste in special waste bins in its stores.
Incredible Connection offers an annual "Trade-In Upgrade & Save" promotion every February, which allows customers to trade in an old device and offers discounts on similar new devices in return. This year's promotion offered discounts of up to R3 000 on new devices.
Makro, Hi-Fi Corp and Incredible Connection are partnered with Desco Electronics Recyclers, an e-waste recycling company operating across SA.
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