Dialog to buy mobile waste

Shirajiv Sirimane

Dialog Telekom will invest Rs. 50 million annually to take back M waste (used batteries and phones) from mobile users from tomorrow. This is the first time that a corporate responsibility initiative of this nature is conduced in the region.

Chief Executive Officer Dialog Telekom, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya told Daily News Business they would increase this investment as and when needed.

"We would be shipping the M Waste to a facility in Singapore which is equipped with the technology to recycle or refurbish the material," he said.

The company would be paying for used batteries and phones to attract the public to give their used phones for recycling. Dialog Telekom has pledged to match M-Waste items returned by consumers with monetary contributions towards the gifting of Toys for Needy Children in the Christmas season.

He said both E Waste (electronic waste) and M Waste (Mobile waste) is causing major environmental and health hazards in the West.

"This is because adequate steps had not been taken in advance. However since there are around seven million handsets in Sri Lanka the country can now introduce this system which would minimise M Waste problems in the future," he said. The objective of the initiative is to reduce hazardous M-waste reaching the environment.

All collected handsets and accessories will be exported to a recycling plant in Singapore. "As we are committed to doing 'Business the responsible way', this programme is a pro-active step that will help mitigate the adverse effects of M-waste on the environment."

He said this programme is an eye-opener for other operators as well as industrialists to follow.

Senior Manager Group Public Policy and CSR, Michael de Soyza said each phone has platinum, cadmium, gold, plastic, glass and others which are harmful to the environment.

The lifespan of a mobile is around five to six years and it is estimated that by the end of next year there would be 130 tons of M waste. "We expect to collect one million tons of M Waste for recycling by the end of 2010," he said.

The Company has already constructed an M Waste dumping site to get this project off the ground.

Chairman Environmental Authority Udaya Gammanpila said this is an initiative that the Government should have taken and not the private sector. He said that E waste is becoming a major problem to the country.

Over 300,000 computers, 400,000 televisions, 25,000 refrigerators and over 50,000 air conditioners sold annually and down the line they would have to be disposed.

"When this happens we do not have a method as to how we should dispose them. I am ashamed to admit that it would take over two years to complete a study to construct a waste management plant of this nature. This is taking far too long," he said.

He said that industrialists have to be more conscious about the environment and come up with more CSR projects of this nature.