Month: January 2013

Recycling is commonly associated with paper and plastic. However, this inference is a major misconception. It must also be held synonymous with e-waste. The term e-waste is used to describe electronic waste, which consists of obsolete electronics and electrical appliances ranging from earphones and batteries to mobile phones and laptops. With our ever increasing dependence on electronic and electrical devices as well as the decreasing average lifespan of electronic devices, e-waste forms a significant portion of the waste generated. Moreover, as consumers switch more frequently to sleeker appliances and gadgets, lured by firms constantly upgrading their products, the problem of electronic waste is mounting.
Why should we recycle e-waste?
E-waste is estimated to be piling up around the world at a rate of 40 million tons per year. E-waste which includes items such as mobile phones, cable modems, laptops and lithium-ion batteries, accounts for over 70% of the toxic waste in landfills and its improper disposal leads to serious pollution and health problems. About 50 million cell phones are replaced worldwide every month, and only 10% are recycled. If we recycled just 1 million cell phones, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking more than 1,300 cars off the road for an entire year.
How can we make a meaningful contribution?
Earthlink NTU, aiming to take further steps promoting sustainable living by bringing the culture of e-waste recycling to NTU, has introduced its E-Waste Recycling Campaign for the Academic Year 2012/2013. An e-waste recycling bin has been placed in North Spine, near the entrance to the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering on Level 1. With increasing concern over the safe disposal of e-waste around the world and the need for a sustainable lifestyle, we aim to provide the students of NTU with an opportunity to play a more significant role in preserving the environment and sincerely hope to achieve our goal of increasing awareness with respect to e-waste recycling with the active support and participation of the NTU population in this campaign.

Have you ever had to throw away books in good condition or a half empty bottle of detergent because you had no further use for them? The general trend of discarding items in good condition after a user has no need for them is prevalent in NTU “!s Halls of Residence, which is even more noticeable towards the end of semesters. The items abandoned include electronics such as printers, chargers, kettles etc., books such as textbooks and novels, stationery items such as post-its, lecture pads etc., as well as cloth hangers and detergents. These items may no longer be useful to you in the near future, however they might be of use to others.

In order to revolutionize this trend to encourage the eco-conservation principle of reusability, Earthlink NTU is introducing a S
Green Corner in central locations of every hall of residence, which is essentially a stand-alone cubby hole system that would provide the residents with an alternative location for residents to deposit items in working order that they no longer require which can subsequently be withdrawn by anyone who would be interested in putting them to good use.

In accordance with this new campaign, S
Green Corners will be placed in Hall of Residence 3 and Hall of Residence 16 from the 1st February 2013 in prime locations. At Hall 16, they would be placed near the prepaid card recharge kiosk in block 16B and at Hall 3, they would be placed near the Function Hall. The primary objective of this green initiative is to promote a culture of reusability among the NTU population as well as prevent disposal of items in good working condition, which would be tremendously beneficial to the residents of NTU. Therefore, we hope the residents will actively support this new green initiative and use the S
Green Corner as a means of procuring and depositing items in good condition which could be reused.

Pioneers of several campaigns have stressed that facts and figures drive people to pay attention to several practices that could result in dire consequences. In accordance with this well established practice, I would like to state the following statistics. Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide which comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year or in landfills. In addition, almost 3 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year worldwide out of which 80 percent are not recycled. In conclusion, we are drowning in plastic, people! If I am not mistaken, that could be an inconvenience.

The Bring Your Own Bag Daily campaign is back and invites students to participate in a movement to reduce plastic consumption among the student population. The campaign consists of Bring Your Own Bag Daily Week, an attempt to enforce the importance of reducing the use of plastic bags and the overall objectives of the campaign via exhibition booths with interactive games and Green Ambassadors at the various stores from 28th to 30th January 2013 at Canopy N, in addition to the collection of 10 additional cents from students for the provision of plastic bags for purchases from the various supply and grocery stores on campus.

Students are aware that the ever-increasing consumption of plastic may prove detrimental for the environment. However, sheer laziness and convenience lead students to ignore the consequences of using plastic bags on a daily basis. We, at Earthlink NTU believe that increasing awareness on the significance of bringing your own bag or using a reusable bag as well as stressing them to take a glimpse into a world where plastic bags replace flora and fauna could help bring a positive change in students “! mindsets. The main objective of the campaign is to encourage the practice of bringing your own plastic bags for shipping and to advocate the usage of re-usable bags among the NTU population.

Nevertheless we also believe that education must be fun. The BYOBD Week includes information booths, interactive games, a photo taking booth and a lucky draw for participants which would impart knowledge as well as be engaging. Hence, we hope the NTU population actively supports this campaign and aids us in eliminating plastic bags which would result in NTU being the first university to achieve this phenomenal feat.

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