November 25, 2016 – Total Access Communication PLC. or dtac
partners up with TES-AMM (Thailand) Co. Ltd. to launch ‘Think Smart’
project, that encourages
people to properly manage the electronic waste by bringing old mobile
phones including batteries and accessories into designated boxes
provided by dtac. dtac will later collect and deliver them to TES-AMM for appropriate disposal and recycling.
According
to Thailand State of Pollution Report 2015 provided by the Pollution
Control Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,
591,127 tonnes of community hazardous waste
were generated in 2015. These can be categorized into waste from
electrical and electronic equipment (or WEEE) at 384,233 tonnes or 65%
and other community hazardous waste such as batteries, light bulbs, and
chemical containers at 206,894 tonnes or 35%. As
for the hazardous waste management, the provincial administrations were
tasked with providing areas for proper community hazardous waste
collection and disposal. In 2015, there were 83 community hazardous
waste centers; 42 of them were in use and could collect
250 tonnes of community hazardous waste, as 174 tonnes of these were disposed.
Most of the
WEEE came from general households. More than 50% of the population sold
their WEEE when it was no longer in use while the rest either dumped
WEEE alongside other waste or given away. The selling programs
of WEEE, included buyback schemes that offered a discount for new
electronic devices, are only accounted for a small amount. The main
problem was the mixing of WEEE with regular municipal solid waste by
waste handling contractors who operated with risks to
the environment and the public health.
Ministry of
Natural Resources and Environment has come with the roadmap for
sustainable reduction of problems caused by waste and hazardous waste
management and pushed all relevant organizations to really implement
the National Master Plan on Waste Management Act B.E. 2559 – 2564 (2016
– 2021). The master plan supports the private sectors to collect,
transport, and dispose of hazardous waste. Thus, dtac
has launched a pilot campaign to encourage customers to properly
manage WEEE by not dumping them with other waste to help reduce the
carbon footprint, contributing pollutants on ecosystems and humans.
Mrs. On-uma Rerkpattanapipat, Head of Communications and Sustainability Division, Total Access Communication PLC. or dtac, said “There are currently 83 million mobile phone subscribers in Thailand. Generally, the life cycle of a cell phone is shorter than 2 years and its battery’s lifetime is around 200 charge cycles or 1 year and 4 months. Moreover, since the advanced technology plays a vital role in developing new products to meet the demands and novel applications and most of the smartphones cost less than 10,000 Baht, these bring up an increase of 47 percent in smart phone sales, reaching 22 million units in 2015. Consequently, some consumers might not have an awareness of unwanted devices and their deteriorated and expired accessories.”
“dtac
has launched ‘Think Smart’ project for more than 10 years to show
responsibility as a company running business based on electronic
devices. We have assigned 120 designated places for customers to drop
their
unused batteries and accessories and then passed them on to TES-AMM for
appropriated disposal and recycling. dtac has
collected over 1.5 million pieces of electronic waste since the launch
of the project and reduced carbon dioxide emission by 18.87 million
kilograms. Additionally, the events have been held to give people
knowledge and public awareness of sustainable pollution solutions. dtac is also ready to give full support for upcoming
WEEE management laws or regulations in order to implement an effective system to handle WEEE.” added Mrs. Rerkpattanapipat.
