Bring your e-waste for disposal
PLETTENBERG BAY - Residents are once again urged to start collecting their electronic waste as the next Electronic Waste Collection Day will take place next month.
The drive aims to help residents get rid of their electronic waste in a responsible manner instead of sending it to landfill.
The drive is a collaborative effort between the Keep Plett Clean campaign, Bitou Municipality and LGE-Waste. According to the UN, in 2021 each person on the planet produced on average 7,6 kg of e-waste, meaning that a massive 57,4 million tons were generated worldwide.
Only 17,4% of this electronic waste, containing a mixture of harmful substances and precious materials, is recorded as being properly collected, treated and recycled.
It was estimated that about 59,4-million metric tons of e-waste were generated last year. According to the World Health Organisation, e-waste volumes are increasing across the globe. The Global E-Waste Statistics Partnership (GESP) reported that e-waste grew by 21% in the five years up to 2019 when 53,6-million metric tons of e-waste were generated.
The GESP estimates that the 17,4% of e-waste collected and appropriately recycled prevented as much as 15 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents from being
released into the environment.
Plett residents are therefore encouraged to drop off their unwanted e-waste at the Piesang Valley Hall on Saturday 25 November between 09:00 and 12:00.
The items that can be dropped off include anything powered by electricity and batteries, such as old cellphones, fridges, tumble dryers, TVs, computers, laptops, kettles, toasters, hair dryers, tools, leads and batteries.