StarHub dares consumers to recycle e-waste

So do you accept the challenge?

Improper disposal of gadgets like mobile phones cause pollution and serious health problems, so StarHub challenges you to recycle with their electronic waste recycling bins.

According to a release, for Earth Hour this year, from 8:30pm till 9:30pm on Saturday 31 March, expect to see dimmed lights, as well as lights and television screens turned off, at StarHub’s retail shops and Customer Service Centres around the island. That is because StarHub will be joining the rest of the planet once again to reduce electricity and greenhouse gas emissions.

Beyond this support for Earth Hour, StarHub will also be launching their electronic waste (e-waste) recycling programme. E-waste recycling bins will be placed at StarHub’s Customer Service Centres at OUB Centre, Plaza Singapura, StarHub Green Level 3, and Tampines mall. An e-waste recycling bin will also be placed at the Grid MMS Office at *SCAPE.

“StarHub is deeply committed to being an environmentally conscious corporate citizen and caring for the natural world,” said Neil Montefiore, Chief Executive Officer, StarHub. “Furthermore, as a provider of electronic equipment and e-services, we feel that it is only right to provide consumers with an avenue through which they can safely and responsibly dispose of their electronic waste.”

E-waste, which includes items such as mobile phones, cable modems, laptops and lithium-ion batteries, accounts for over 70% of the toxic waste in landfills and this improper disposal leads to serious pollution and health problems.

“About 50 million cell phones are replaced worldwide every month, and only 10% are recycled,” revealed Mr Montefiore. “If we recycled just 1 million cell phones, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking more than 1,300 cars off the road for an entire year.”

In the vein of WWF’s campaign tagline “I Will If You Will”, StarHub is giving the public an incentive to recycle their e-waste at its e-waste recycling bins. If consumers deposit 3,000kg of e-waste into the five bins between Earth Hour and Earth Day, which falls on 22 April 2012, StarHub will plant 30 trees at a local park. This works out to one tree for every 100kg of e-waste recycled. All e-waste collected will be recycled by TES-AMM, a local e-waste recycling company.

“Recycling bins for paper, plastic and metal are commonplace nowadays, but it is very difficult to find bins in which the average consumer can recycle e-waste,” observed Mr Montefiore. “We’re hoping to provide such channels at easily accessible locations, and eventually inculcate a long-term habit for consumers, whether they are our customers or not, to recycle their e-waste with us.”