We consumers have the power to destroy the world: Thai opinion

[webfact]

STREETWISE
We consumers have the power to destroy the world
Achara Deboonme

BANGKOK: -- In light of natural disasters driven by climate change, consumers across the world are increasingly trying to cut their impact on the environment. Some use less fuel, while others recycle or opt for eco-friendly products that promise lower carbon emissions.

They want to do more, but in one important area it seems choices are limited. If your electronic device malfunctions and you want to get it fixed, you may find out that dumping it and buying another is the wiser choice.

I encountered this problem myself when I accidentally dropped my smartphone into a bowl of water. Yes, it went dead. At the service centre, I was told that the main board - apparently the most important feature of the device - needed to be changed. I was advised to buy a new phone. The main board would have cost Bt6,000, while a new smartphone was Bt10,000.

Recently my television set stopped working. The electrician said the main board was dead. He, too, advised me to buy a new one, saying "TV sets are cheap these days".

I did buy a new handset and a new TV set but I wasn't comfortable with the idea. I can't help thinking back to the time when these types of items were first launched. Back then they seemed more durable. My first handset, bought in the 1990s, worked fine for over five years. The TV set my father bought in the 1970s was still being watched more than 10 years later.

These days, durability has been replaced by novelty. Commercials bombard us with the latest models, encouraging us to throw away our "outdated" gadgets. Often, the updated model contains no new features, just enhancements like better screen resolution.

The new phone tends to work well for the first year. Then it starts suffering glitches, just as the updated model is lined up for launch.

Walk into any mall these days and you'll likely see rows of almost-empty clothes shops. The shoppers are mainly crowding round the outlets selling mobile phones, TVs and other gadgets. I get agitated with this trend for digital "toys", but I know I'm part of it, however reluctantly. And that means that I, too, am guilty of contributing to our growing mountain of electronic waste.

Across the world, 1.3 billion cellphones were sold last year. According to one estimate, each user upgrades their cell phone every 18 months on average. Which means that over 300 million devices could be discarded this year.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, sales of new electronic products are driving an increase in use, storage and end-of-life management of electronics. But in 2011 only 29 per cent of consumer electronics were collected for recycling - though that was an improvement on the 25 per cent in 2009.

According to Pollution Control Department projections, the number of TV sets Thais threw away this year (2.59 million) will rise to 3.26 million in 2021. The number of digital cameras dumped will go from 875,000 to 1.29 million, while the 9.75 million phones trashed will rise to 13.4 million.

Where do they go? The department says there is no single specific law to deal with e-waste. Some of it comes under the Hazardous Substance Act, while much of is dealt with under laws exercised by other departments.

It surprised me to learn that Thailand has a National E-waste Strategy Approach Committee, comprising officials from several departments. But we still don't have specific licences for recycling e-waste, factories dedicated to recycling, or large-scale equipment to break down the waste. Most of the e-waste disappears into informal sectors - waste pickers, dealers, junk shops, and small-scale recyclers and reprocessors. And it's dismantled by simple tools in processes that often expose workers to hazardous substances.

Some companies have recently started promoting recycling and awareness of the process, but it seems the amount of money going to promote new products is far bigger.

This is where more needs to be done. Soft-drink distributors in Europe have been successful in encouraging the return of their empty beverage bottles by offering a small reward. Likewise, offering better money for e-waste could encourage recycling. Right now, your old air-con unit is likely to fetch a mere Bt500 or so. But how about if manufacturers came up with units whose compressors could be replaced without changing the air-con body? Then, only the broken compressors would need to be discarded.

Likewise, is it possible that makers of TVs and phones could focus more on the parts? Why do we have to discard the entire item when something malfunctions, if most of its parts still work?

The United Nations has an eye-opening piece of information: Of the world's seven billion people, six billion have mobile phones. However, only 4.5 billion have access to toilets or latrines - meaning that 2.5 billion people, mostly in rural areas, do not have proper sanitation. In addition, 1.1 billion people still defecate in the open.

Some people may disregard this and carry on buying updated mobile phones as the opportunity arises. But what about others, who don't want to toss away their still-shiny devices that have ceased functioning properly? Come on, we can be more creative and innovative.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/We-consumers-have-the-power-to-destroy-the-world-30241760.html


-- The Nation 2014-08-26

[NeverSure]

Part of the answer is to recycle them. I can actually sell those to a recycler who will harvest the gold, silver and even platinum from the contacts and other parts. He will crush the mainboard and other printed circuit parts and capture the metals - even the steel. When he's finished he'll sell the plastics to a recycler.

There are several places where I can get $1 dollar for a cellphone or smartphone, and $5 for a tower computer. Retailers will give me that for them and pass them on as a service.

It just takes a culture of responsibility to do that instead of throwing them in the trash.

[ratcatcher]

I am sure there's nothing quite like squatting in the bush relieving ones self while at the same time chatting on Facebook on a smartphone.

Priorities you know..

[DrLom]

To the writer of the OP. It is called implementing laws.

Did you know that by 2015 it is US FMVSS and EU ELV "LAW" that 97% of all components in a car MUST be identified, recyclable and have imprinted on them exactly what material they are made of? Same should be done to anything manufactured (Nanotechnology also now permits that on any part of a phone!)

Just bringing that to your attention, like.

[SoFarAndNear]

Yes mister wealthy who wrote that article. You spend the money for a new model. The most other people in the country who are not so fortunate buying your second hand models.

[BSJ]

I bought an old TV down from the village thinking the recycle centre I take my junk to would take it....but no. So, I bought it home again and left it with the junk next to the bins......gone in 2 hours!

[BudRight]

Unless the particular material is blasted away from Earth, it will still be here. If future scarcity requires we mine landfills for a particular thing, rest assured it will happen. The rest is aesthetics.

[skorchio]

My first handset, bought in the 1990s, worked fine for over five years .....

Did you ever drop it in a bowl of water?

[worgeordie]

All World governments , their main priority is growth,make more,sell more,

when in reality this is not a sustainable policy ,more growth, more pollution,

example when the new iphone comes on the market,most likely millions of

people are going to buy one,even though the phone they have at present

is perfectly serviceable,just because the advertisers tell them they cannot

live without it,and like sheep they follow.

regards Worgeordie

[DrLom]

All World governments , their main priority is growth,make more,sell more,

when in reality this is not a sustainable policy ,more growth, more pollution,

example when the new iphone comes on the market,most likely millions of

people are going to buy one,even though the phone they have at present

is perfectly serviceable,just because the advertisers tell them they cannot

live without it,and like sheep they follow.

regards Worgeordie

Suffer little children to come unto me, for my company is the financial kindom of heaven.

[DeepInTheForest]

Achara, you are so, so, so right on. E-waste is indeed a huge problem. And like most of our environmental concerns, it's getting worse.

For those interested in eliminating the trade in toxic waste (yes, this stuff is shipped internationally), the Basel Action Network is a good place to start.

It's US-based, but has a global reach. The video link below is very worthwhile.

"The United Nations estimates that up to 50 million tons of electronic goods are discarded globally every year.
"In Europe e-waste is increasing at three to five per cent a year – almost three times faster than the total waste stream. Developing countries are also expected to triple their e-waste production over the next five years....
"Last year Greenpeace found high levels of lead, dioxins and phthalates, which can harm the body, in an area in Ghana where e-waste is stripped. Similar levels of contamination have been found at e-waste dumps in India and China."

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/e-waste-casts-shadow-over-basel-convention/7663806

The US, incidentally, is the only developed country that has not signed the Basel treaty on limiting trade in e-waste.

Edited August 26, 2014 by DeepInTheForest

[razer]

You just figured this out? Had an excellent marketing class and critical thinking clas in university so I never gave credibility to makeing hype and advertising.

Consumers are the ultimate power. Consumer boycott brought apartheid in S. Africa to an end. Consumer boycott brought Nike to its knees. People are so stupid not to realize this. People are so simple minded to accept truth claims without verification or evidence. People are so sheepish they have to follow the fad so they fit in. Haha ... it is amusing to watch.

For example. look at the Citi Group. It is not tied with history the past 100 years like it claims in the commercial. It was an insurance company that bought a NY bank in the 90s that had been around 100 years. I boycot Citi everything because they spin untruths and they are crooks bailed out by tax payers. But there are oh ... so many more.

[VINCENT2012]

a thai opinion?...well what a new !!all crisis start when the dum boy stop buying.

we are in a stupid world (comunist or capitalist even socialism at the end is the same crap)based on consuming like crasy for some to make more and more money.

when are we going to act as all animals act in this planet ...just take and eat what you need and live the rest alone, thats it.

we destroy our planet every day only for bank notes.

when is the human been going to wake up? one day it has to change because we go very fast in making this planet , a planet garbage

[bangkapi]

But if consumers stop borrowing money to buy things they shouldn't buy, then the economy will collapse.

It's lose-lose.

We are living with an economic system that can only survive if it grows to infinity on a planet with finite resources.

The shit will hit the fan one way or the other.

[belg]

thais like to burn stuff...

no education + lack of enforcement of laws by the BIB

included picture from last week ... little fire

Edited August 26, 2014 by belg

[tonbridgebrit]

We still have to bear in mind, is it the case that Thailand consumes far less natural resources per person than places like America and Western Europe ?

The developed nations must lead by example, and cut their consumption and pollution on a per person level, cut it down to what it is for the not so rich nations. Once this happens, yes, then we can teach the other nations how we must look after our planet.

It does look a bit silly, when we try to tell places like India, China, Bangladesh, South East Asia, when we try to educate and lecture them about pollution and too much consumption, when we're actually causing more pollution per person.

The poorer nations, they start thinking that we're only trying to stop them from developing, whilst at the same time, we want to carry on consuming and polluting far more on a per person basis.

"We want YOU to stop your pollution, and stop consuming lot's of natural resources, so we're already consuming and polluting more than you, so what, what's that got to do with anything" ???

[Jeremy50]

I am only on my second mobile. The first, a Seimens lasted 9 years, the current one, a Nokia , I have had for 6 years.

I don't have a TV, because I don't want to watch endless crap. I download quality viewing onto my laptop, via torrents.

If you want to see how long a TV will last, go to any Thai hotel in the 300-600 baht range.

[spidermike007]

It surprised me to learn that Thailand has a National E-waste Strategy Approach Committee, comprising officials from several departments. But we still don't have specific licences for recycling e-waste, factories dedicated to recycling, or large-scale equipment to break down the waste. Most of the e-waste disappears into informal sectors - waste pickers, dealers, junk shops, and small-scale recyclers and reprocessors. And it's dismantled by simple tools in processes that often expose workers to hazardous substances.

This does not mean much. It simply means somewhere along the line, someone thought it was a good idea, and then the position was created, but nobody ever backed it up with anything meaningful. A good idea is never enough. It always has to be backed up with planning, implementation, and carried forward to fruition. There is someone in Koh Samui who is a minister in charge or pollution and excessive noise offenses. A recent formal complaint was brought to him, about the goombas operating the Ark Bar on Chaweng Beach, who are the worst noise offenders on the island, and disturb thousands of residents and tourists on a daily basis. He just sat there with a blank look on his face, trying to avoid eye contact, and did nothing. When questioned about his powers, he said this would need to be taken to court, and they would need to be sued in court. But, you are the official in charge of noise. Why can't you do anything? I do not know. Nobody has ever made a formal complaint like this before. I do not know how to handle it, (nor do I want to do anything about it!).

So ideas are fine, but with nothing to back them up, they are meaningless.

[spidermike007]

The single best thing we can do to save the world from the invasion of plastic, is to try to reduce our consumption. I always bring re-usable bags to the grocery store, thereby saving about 1,000 bags of more, per year. I also refuse to order water at a restaurant, as they nearly always come in plastic bottles. Only a percentage of that plastic can be recycled, and that is with great effort. So, I order the 20 liter bottles at my home, and refill my plastic bottles hundreds of times. I bring a bottle of that water with me, when I go out to eat. The restaurants never mind this, and it saves me some money too. Same with the gym, etc. I always keep a couple of bottles of water under the seat in my bike. It makes me feel like I am contributing in the smallest of ways, but at least it is something. Plastic is a curse when it comes to the environment, and we can all try to reduce consumption a bit. They worst thing you can do is make no effort. One persons footprint, when it comes to plastic consumption in a lifetime is enormous.