ALBA E-Waste, together with its partners CapitaLand, EWR2 Pte Ltd and the National Environment Agency, launched an art exhibition at Lot One Shoppers’ Mall, Level 5 Roof Garden, from 28 Oct to 4 Nov 2022, in observance of International E-Waste Day
The exhibition is a yearly event which started in 2021, when ALBA E-Waste officially begun operating as the Producer Responsibility Scheme Operator for E-Waste.
Building up to the exhibition, ALBA E-Waste conducted an art competition for students from Secondary and Tertiary schools, and Institutes of Higher Learning. Students were invited to submit artworks inspired by 3 key themes – ‘Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Impacts of E-Waste and Zero Waste Nation’. These themes were designed to encourage students to research and understand issues on e-waste on a deeper level. The competition received over 60 submissions. 26 submissions have been shortlisted for the exhibition. Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment, Dr Amy Khor, along with representatives from ALBA E-Waste, CapitaLand, EWR2 Pte Ltd, and NEA were invited to attend a judging and prize-giving ceremony on 29 October 2022.
“We are pleased to be the official venue partner of ALBA’s International E-Waste Day art exhibition, as part of our commitment to curating meaningful sustainability initiatives at Lot One. Besides the public library with green features located within the mall, shoppers and residents in the area can look forward to a wide range of community events, while learning more about protecting the environment,” said Mr Mustafa Abdul Rahim, General Manager of Lot One Shoppers’ Mall.
School-Wide E-Waste Collection Drive Competition
In conjunction with the art competition, a school-wide E-Waste collection drive competition was also organised, with 20 schools and over 1,100 kg of e-waste collected. The schools that collected the highest volumes of e-waste in this competition were Crest Secondary, Yio Chu Kang Secondary and Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
EPR System for E-waste Progress Update
Since the launch of the EPR system on 1 July 2021 till 30 September 2022, there has been a significant increase in the collection points from initial 400 collection points to now over 700 collection points set up in Singapore, at shopping malls, large electronic retailers, supermarkets, government buildings and community centres. The collection points include E-Bins and manned counter collection at retail shops. In the same period, ALBA E-Waste have processed close to 7,550,000 kg of e-waste.
“We have observed a rising awareness of e-waste recycling amongst the public, with an increasing number of requests coming in from organizations, schools, private companies and communities for e-waste collection drives and educational sharing. To date, we have conducted over 110 such engagements and expect this to grow exponentially, along with volumes of e-waste recycled. This pushes us closer to realizing the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and towards a Net-Zero Emissions Singapore by 2050,” said Mr Fons Krist, General Manager of ALBA E-Waste.
Mr Derek Chong, Senior Manager of EWR2 Pte Ltd, added on, “We have seen a steady stream of e-waste collected under the EPR System over the past year. It takes a little effort on the individual’s part to recycle, but together our combined efforts can make a difference. Together with our partners, we hope to continue to raise the awareness of recycling so that we can leave our children a better place to live in.”
For the continued success of the EPR system, all members of society can play their part. Take for example, consumers can practise the 3Rs – Reduce consumption of new products when not required, Repair faulty items and lastly, Recycle right when the item reaches the end of its product life.
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