We consumers have the power to destroy the world

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These days, durability has been replaced by novelty. Commercials bombard us with the latest models, encouraging us to throw away our “outdated” gadgets.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.