WEEE Recycling Day, 11 Dec 2005
What is WEEE?
WEEE means waste electrical and electronic equipment. It includes all types of household electrical and electronic appliances such as computers, air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, televisions, video\audio equipment, rice cookers, electric kettles etc..
Each year, over 1.5 million sets of WEEE are discarded from households in Hong Kong. Although large quantities are already collected by scavengers and recycled, a significant amount is still disposed of at landfills. As many WEEE contain toxic substances, disposing WEEE at landfills may cause a potential risk to the environment and takes up valuable landfill space. Some of the WEEE discarded are still in operating condition and should be put for second-hand use. The recyclable materials in the WEEE should also be removed for recycling.
WEEE Recycling Day
11 December 2005 (Sunday) is declared to be Hong Kong's first WEEE Recycling Day, as one of the highlights of the Environmental Protection Festival 2005. On that day, the public is encouraged to bring their waste electrical appliances and disused computers to the designated collection points for recycling.
| Details of WEEE Recycling Day | |
|---|---|
| Date : | 1 1 December 2005 (Sunday) |
| Aim : | To raise the awareness of the public to reuse and recycle waste computers, electrical and electronic appliances |
| Activities : | Organize WEEE recycling activities at district level and in housing estates |
| Target : | General public is invited to take part in the activities |
Organizers and Co-organizers
Organizers
- Environmental Protection Department (EPD)
- Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC)
Co-organizers
- Caritas Hong Kong
- St. James' Settlement
- Hong Kong General Association of Re-cycling Business
- Hong Kong Recycle Materials & Re-production Business General Association Limited
Transportation support companies
- Fook Woo Environmental Technologies Limited
- On Kee Metal Company
- Wai Sang Waste Paper & Metal Co
Items to be collected
Household electrical and electronic appliances
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television sets, refrigerators, washers & dryers, air-conditioners, video\audio equipment, rice cookers, electric kettles, electric food processors, microwave ovens, heaters, fans, hair dryer, telecommunications equipment, electronic toys & game sets, chargers etc.
Computers
computers, computer parts (hard drives, CD-ROM/DVD drives, PC boards), monitors, printers, scanners, mouses, keyboards, speakers, transformers etc.
Accessories
ink & toner cartridges, VCD, CD, DVD, video tapes, dry rechargeable batteries.
Where would the collected WEEE go?
The WEEE and used computers collected would be sent to the recycling workshops operated by the charitable organizations: St. James' Settlement and Caritas (Hong Kong) at the Kowloon Bay Transfer Station (KBTS). Staff from the two organizations would inspect, repair or dismantle the collected computers and WEEE. The repaired computers and appliances will be donated to the needy while the usable components and materials including metals, plastics and circuit boards from equipment beyond repair are recovered for reuse and recycling.
KBTS Workshop
Address: No. 11, Cheung Yip Street, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon
KBTS Workshop
Location Map
District Activities
ECC provides sponsorship to District Councils to organize WEEE recycling activities at the district level. The objective is to convey the recycling message to different communities and encourage the public to participate.
Participating District Councils
- Central and Western District Council
- Kwai Tsing District Council
- Kwun Tong District Council
- Sai Kung District Council
- Sha Tin District Council
- Southern District Council
- Tsuen Wan District Council
- Tuen Mun District Council
Housing Estate Activities
To cultivate a good habit of recycling waste computers, electrical and electronic appliances, and to promote public awareness on the Recovery Programme for the Waste Computers and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, property management companies have been invited to join the territory-wide WEEE Recycling Day on 11 December 2005. About 190 housing estates have already signed up to organize WEEE recycling activities in their buildings.
Participating Housing Estates
Click here to view:-
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Hong Kong
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Kowloon
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New Territories
Participating housing estates are required to help collect the waste electrical and electronic appliances including used computers from their residents one to two weeks before the WEEE Recycling Day. Management companies may refer to the Implementation Guideline on how to organize the WEEE recycling activity.
EPD would arrange to pick the recovered items and inform the management companies of the collection date when available. The responsible person of each participating estate is required to return the Recovered Items Record Form to EPD.
Businesses
Businesses planning to recycle used computers and electrical and electronic appliances, please contact Caritas (computers) at tel: 2716 6875 or St. James' Settlement (electrical and electronic appliances) at tel: 2795 7038 for organizing collection days.
Downloads and resources
- Poster
- Leaflet
Q&As
| 1. |
Why should you recycle your used computers and electrical and electronic appliances?
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Each year, more than 1.5 million sets of computers and electrical and electronic equipment are discarded from households and disposed of at landfills in Hong Kong. Some of them are still in operating condition and should be put for second-hand use. All contain useable-components and materials including metals and plastics that can be recovered for reuse and recycling.
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| 2. | What will happen to the items that I have dropped off? |
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The repaired computers and appliances will be donated to the needies. If there is no suitable receiver, the repaired goods will be put on charitable sales and the proceeds will be put back to this recycling programme. The appliances that are beyond repair will be dismantled with the useable components and materials recovered for reuse and recycling.
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| 3. | Can I ask for a permanent WEEE recycling programme in my housing estate? |
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Yes and you can ask your management company or Incorporated Owners'/Owners' Committee of your housing estate to join the Programme on Source Separation of Domestic Waste.
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