Have you ever noticed the crossed out wheeled bin label on a product you bought? Well, that label is of environmental significance. Last month (October), I bought a Huawei Shot X smartphone and noticed that the crossed out wheeled bin label was on it, and the package as well. It was a label among others. It kept me wondering what it meant. I took the modem I use for my laptop looking to find that label on it. I found the crossed out bin label on the modem. Again, I found the label on the pen drive I use.
Thinking
through the label I began making my own deductions. When in school if one does
their homework, say in arithmetic, and you are given the X mark against any answer
to a question in your homework it means the answer given is rejected or it is
wrong.
If you come
across any product with the crossed out wheeled bin label on it, it means when
that product is no more serviceable it must
not be dispose of in the bin together with other normal waste. These products
are electrical and electronic products. The electrical and electronic wastes
are to be disposed of separately. The electrical and electronic wastes are to
be separated so as not to end up in the landfill.
Actually the
technical name for the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol is WEEE symbol. WEEEstands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. It is a directive
of the European Union regarding the management of electrical and electronic wastes.
The directive is to encourage the reuse and recycling of electrical and
electronic waste.
There are
two main reasons the electrical and electronic products bearing the symbol of
the crossed out wheeled bin are to be disposed of differently. The reasons are
recycling and prevention of dangerous materials seeping into the ground from
the electrical and electronic wastes.
Recycling involves
the reuse of unserviceable or unwanted electrical and electronic products to
create new ones or the repair of such products for reuse. The environmental
significance of this idea is that when electrical and electronic wastes are
used in creating new ones it reduces the mining for raw materials to
manufacture new products. Mining causes the clearing of rainforests, thereby
the loss of topsoil, loss of species, loss of biodiversity, loss of biome, loss
of ecosystems, disruption of human communities etc. In addition, chemicals used
in mining seep into the soil and groundwater. It is out of the ground that you
get the food you eat to sustain and maintain your energy, and if the soil
quality is compromised the quality of the food you eat should be compromised
too.
In Ghana, we have a
way of recycling electrical and electronic wastes. The guys interested in the
electrical wastes come around to collect the electrical and electronic wastes
from homes, for money. These guys come with trolleys on recycled tires. They
put the electrical wastes they collect on the trolleys. As they go round
looking for the electrical waste, they shout “condemned!” to let you know that
they are around. They collect the “condemned” stuff (electrical and electronic
wastes) tear them apart (cannibalize) to use them in creating new things.
The second reason for
not disposing of electrical waste through the bin is to avoid chemicals from
the electrical waste from seeping into the soil when deposited in a landfill.
If the electrical materials are deposited into a landfill, the electrical and
electronic materials will release dangerous chemicals (lead) into the soil, and
groundwater thereby contaminating them.
The smart thing to
do then, as one bracing for a clean and balanced natural environment, is to
henceforth check green labels or symbols on products and their packages for
compliance. The crossed out wheeled bin
symbol speaks of the disposal of electrical and electronic waste in particular,
in green way.
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