E-waste recycling programme ropes in four retailers

Four electronics retailers -- Best Denki, COURTS, Gain City and Harvey Norman -- have joined DHL, StarHub and TES’ RENEW programme to further encourage electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) recycling in Singapore. Under the collaboration agreement, the four companies will place the RENEW bins in 20 of their retail stores. These include seven COURTS stores, five Best Denki and Gain City stores each and three Harvey Norman stores.

By including the four major electronics retailers, consumers now have greater recycling convenience to dispose their unwanted electronic devices and information and communications technology (ICT) equipment. Under the programme, StarHub provides the bins, while DHL collects and delivers the e-waste to TES’ e-waste recycling facility.

The network of 468 RENEW bins can be found across 422 locations island-wide. The programme has cumulatively collected more than 249 tonnes of e-waste since 2012, with over 92 tonnes collected in just 2017, up from the two tonnes collected in 2012.

Jeannie Ong, StarHub’s chief strategic partnership officer, said: “As an info-communications company, we are keenly aware of the importance of proper e-waste disposal which is why we started this e-waste recycling programme over six years ago. Today, the rate which e-waste is generated has gathered pace as Singapore progresses towards its Smart Nation vision. This should concern all of us as the environment belongs to the community. Having the retailers join the programme would mean greater convenience and accessibility for members of the public in Singapore to safely dispose their unwanted electronic devices and equipment. To effectively tackle environmental issues, we believe that it is important to involve the private and public sectors as well as the civil society to do their part.”

Julian Neo, head of Commercial, DHL Express Singapore, added: “As DHL works towards our 2050 Zero Emission goal, we want to encourage more of our partners, customers and employees to join us on this journey. E-waste growth will only continue to accelerate with the pace of digital transformation. So, we should be growing the awareness of proper e-waste disposal at an even faster rate. With these retailers -- COURTS, Gain City, Harvey Norman and Best Denki -- lending their support to the cause, we have a good chance of winning this sustainability race against e-waste.”

TES’ COO, Gary Steele remarked: “TES is proud to continue to be a part of this important initiative. It is a great model that demonstrates over time how diverse stakeholders working in unison can make a meaningful difference to environmental outcomes.”

Non-bulky e-waste items such as mobile phones, cables, modems, laptops, remote controls, keyboards, mice, DVD players, MP3 players and lithium-ion batteries from individuals can be deposited into the RENEW bins.

By Muneerah Bee