Malaysian Association of Standards Users chief executive officer Ratna Devi Nadarajan says regulators and industries should play their part in creating awareness on what can and can’t be thrown in the trash.
They should come up with clear instructions on what consumers can do with their end-of-life batteries, fluorescent tubes and e-waste, which includes mobile phones, computers, printers, and television sets.
These instructions, says Ratna, should be constantly disseminated to the public, by retailers as well as at electrical and electronic fairs.
“For example, the “wheelie bin” logo (drawing of a wheelie bin with a cross over it) must be placed on electrical and electronic items that cannot be thrown into the normal waste bins at the end of their life-span. When we ask consumers if they have seen the logo of the wheelie bin, most answer ‘yes’. But they do not know what it means. When we tell them what it means, they will then ask us where they can throw the item,” says Ratna.
She says Malaysia should follow the European Union example.
“Importers in the EU will either have a take-back system where the items that have reached the end of their life-span are sent back to the country of origin or they will manage the waste on site if they have the facilities to do so,” says Ratna.
This is called the “polluter-pays principle” or extended producer responsibility.
“This means the manufacturers are the ones who pay to manage this waste as they are the ones who place these substances in the products.
“Making them pay will compel them to find more environmentally-friendly alternatives. Most developed countries have this take-back policy. Why not here?
“The industries should be the ones to bear the responsibility in ensuring that e-waste is managed responsibly and the cost of doing this should be borne by them as much as possible. The relevant government agencies should also encourage industries which undertake such efforts.
“This should be carried out immediately. Don’t wait for the law as they take very long to be implemented,” says Ratna.
She says those who consumed food and water tainted with heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury and lithium would be adversely affected.
Lead affects the brain, while cadmium is classified as a carcinogen.
Mercury, she says, will also affect brain development as well as a person’s blood.
Mercury and lead, she says, are used in many normal dry-cell batteries.
“Anything that contains any substance that is classified as heavy metal should not be thrown into the trash,” she says.
