Where will you throw away broken lamps? What is worth knowing about electronic waste during the holidays?

What exactly is this electronic waste and where does it come from?

Shopping, cleaning, preparing dishes, a thousand things run through my head, and the list of things to do is long. In stores, apart from baubles and decorations, at this time of year we are tempted by lamps, music boxes, glowing houses, singing snowmen, illuminated reindeer ears and many others. Unfortunately, most of them spoil quickly and can only be thrown away. They usually end up in the garbage in the wrong place, because many people do not realize where to put used lamps or old smartphones. Ultimately, a certain symbol dispels doubts. This is a symbol of a crossed-out container that the manufacturer must place on electronic waste. He reminds that this waste cannot be mixed with other waste or thrown into a regular container in a garbage shed, but should be sent to appropriate collection points.

Electronic waste is used, broken or simply unnecessary devices powered by electricity or batteries. Starting from the most recognizable ones, i.e. washing machines, refrigerators, TVs and radios, to the less intuitive ones, such as headphones, cables, wires, battery-powered children’s toys, electric toothbrushes, calculators, counters and medical equipment. Therefore, e-waste is equipment that runs on batteries or electricity. It often seems that when such small battery-powered devices break down, they can simply be thrown into the trash, but this is not the case.

On the trail of Christmas… electronic waste

Christmas electronic waste most often appears in our homes when we make an impulse purchase and choose a low-quality lighting or playing gadget. Such things often break or end up at the bottom of the drawer because they get bored or it is difficult to buy the right battery for them.

An unpleasant surprise may also happen to us when we take out the lamps from last year from the wardrobe and they no longer work and have to be thrown away. The same charger or cable attached to newly purchased equipment that we already have at home may also turn out to be electronic waste.

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Electronic waste is also created when we replace broken equipment with a new model of equipment that we already have or when we get a “new, better model” for Christmas – then the old one is discarded. While we can return old, faulty equipment to the store where we buy a new one, in the latter case the best solution is to recycle it, e.g. by putting it on an auction site or giving it to friends.

Proper disposal of electronic waste

If we take used electronics to an appropriate collection point, they will be recycled. From there it goes to a processing plant. With appropriate technologies, hazardous substances are removed from electronic waste, for example phosphor from old fluorescent lamps or freon from old refrigerators. Secondary raw materials are recovered, such as steel, aluminum, glass, plastics, but also gold. They can then be used to produce not only new electronics, but also other products. This is a good solution for the environment because it reduces the demand for primary raw materials, the extraction of which involves high environmental costs. But it is also important for the future production of electronics, because some of the recovered raw materials are rare and access to them is difficult. It is also worth remembering that electronic waste may contain harmful substances that may contaminate the environment. Therefore, let us never throw away used, unnecessary or broken electrical and electronic equipment into regular garbage bins, which may result in a fine of up to PLN 5,000, but let us take them to an electronic waste collection point. So what to do with them then?

• return it to the store when purchasing a new one of the same type (the seller is obliged to accept the equipment 1:1)
• return it when a new product is delivered (report this to the seller in advance)
• return small equipment (no dimension of which exceeds 25 cm) to an electronics store with a sales area of ​​over 400m2
• take it to the Selective Municipal Waste Collection Point (PSZOK) in your commune (the address can be found on the commune’s website)
• put into containers intended for the collection of electronic waste

photo: istock

– Yes, there may be gold in a smartphone, but it is small and, like most valuable substances in this equipment, we can only recover it using special technologies. Used electronics should be disposed of appropriately – explains Monika Wyciechowska, educator and promoter of waste segregation, education marketing manager at RLG. – It is worth mentioning that inappropriate handling of electronic waste results in wasting secondary raw materials. It may also cause a significant threat to the environment from which we draw and, indirectly, to the health of our loved ones. Mercury found, for example, in fluorescent lamps, can penetrate the soil and water, and then into the air and our food.– he adds.

It is worth realizing that we produce and buy more and more electronics. It is increasing every year, and therefore, the number of used electrical and electronic equipment is also increasing. The study, commissioned by RLG and conducted on a representative sample of 1,000 respondents aged 18 to 64, sheds light on the challenges related to e-waste in Poland. As many as 89% of survey participants declare that they separate waste, but unfortunately only 66% of them do so, despite applicable regulations and awareness of the negative impact on the environment.

What is terrifying is that 17% of respondents believe that they do not produce electronic waste at all. Meanwhile, most of us produce them – as many as 89% of Poles have thrown away at least one such waste this year.*

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Promotional material as part of public educational campaigns conducted by RLG Relectra Polska Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recovery Organization SA