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Jakarta steps up efforts to process e-waste
English teacher Fahry Pradipta once faced the dilemma of what to do with his unusable PlayStation 1 gaming console and his antiquated brick-looking Nokia phone, which lay, gathering dust, atop his wardrobe
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span>English teacher Fahry Pradipta once faced the dilemma of what to do with his unusable PlayStation 1 gaming console and his antiquated brick-looking Nokia phone, which lay, gathering dust, atop his wardrobe.
“At first, I didn’t want to get rid of my old electronics because of the sentimental value they possessed. However, they became troublesome over time as they were getting dusty and took up space in my bedroom,” he said.
Fortunately for Fahry, he recently heard about the electronic waste drop boxes that are located across Jakarta. After searching for the one nearest to his office, the 24-year-old disposed of his electronic artifacts.
“Initially, the idea of throwing away my first ever gaming console was disheartening. However, it couldn’t be switched on anymore, so it made more sense to have it recycled into something more useful,” he said.
In a bid to help Jakartans dispose of their old electronics, the Jakarta Environment Agency currently provides 60 e-waste drop boxes throughout the city, up from 53 last year. The boxes, provided since 2017, are installed in public spaces such as Transjakarta bus stops, City Hall, mayor offices and schools.
“The drop boxes are set up to help people who are unsure about what to do with their old, unusable electronics,” the agency’s hazardous and toxic waste management division head, Rosa Ambarsari, told The Jakarta Post at the agency’s warehouse in Cililitan subdistrict, East Jakarta, recently.
“People need to know that their old electronics must not be carelessly disposed of as they are considered hazardous and toxic waste,” she said.
The warehouse is where all the old electronics collected from the drop boxes are temporarily kept. This is to prevent such waste from being dumped into the Bantar Gebang landfill in Bekasi, West Java.
The agency currently only handles collection, working in partnership with third party waste processing company PT Teknotama Lingkungan Internusa (TLI), which handles the next step at its processing plant.
“The waste will either be recycled or incinerated at the plant,” Rosa said.
She explained there were certain electronics that could be recycled and others that needed to be completely destroyed.
“E-waste made out of metals and plastics can be recycled, especially metals that can be reduced to raw materials. On the other hand, waste such as batteries and light bulbs need to be destroyed as they pose hazardous and toxic health risks,” Rosa said.
Few are fully aware that electronic goods contain poisonous chemicals. Exposure to materials such as mercury, lead, chromium, cadmium, arsenic, silver, cobalt, palladium and copper poses serious health risks such as neurological damage and impairment of children’s physical and mental development.
TLI electronic waste manager Sutiono Gunadi said his company meticulously followed a set of steps to recycle salvageable electronic items.
The first step is to detach the printed circuit boards (PCB) from the electronic waste such as computers, televisions and mobile phones. The PCBs will then be inserted into a shredder.
After that, the PCB pieces are put through a magnetic separator that removes the iron fragments.
Finally, the remaining pieces are crushed with a hammer mill before being put through a hard particle separator to separate heavy copper fragments from light fibrous dust.
The agency recorded that 27,610 e-waste items had been collected in 2018, up from 12,722 items the previous years, including smartphones, hair dryers, fans, light bulbs, washing machines, air conditioning units, fax machines and rice cookers.
Despite the early success of the program, budget constraints restrict the expansion of the service.
Community engagement unit head at the Jakarta Environment Agency, Djoko Rianto Budi, said e-waste collection was limited by the city’s budget allocation.
“Once we have collected 9 tons of e-waste inside the warehouse, the administration stops allocating money for us to fund the operational costs of the warehouse until the start of next year,” he said, without going into details. (bry)
