Since people are dependent on electronic gadgets—mobile phones, tablets, computers—the United Nations Environment Program said electronic waste or e-waste had become the “fastest growing waste stream in the world,” the New York Times News Service (NYTNS) reported.
The non-profit Blacksmith Institution, which focuses on solving pollution problems, said toxic e-waste threatens the health of 100 million people worldwide, the same news story said.
There had been initiatives to recycle the potentially harmful waste, but NYTNS said it was not just a question of recycling but “recycling with a responsible processor.”
The report said, “Some programs do little more than pass the load to unverified operators, then toss loads of e-waste into increasingly toxic dumps around the world.”
Given the controversy over the shipment of waste from Canada, what James Kao, chief executive officer of GreenCitizen, Inc., a California electronics recycling company, said in the story would make the issue of greater concern. “If you don’t know where the material goes, you could be thinking you’re doing the right thing, but it ends up being put on a ship,” Kao said.
A major part of the work GreenCitizen did to minimize the release of toxic e-waste was to “dispose of as little as possible.” The company reused or sold anything that still worked.
Kao said 30 percent of the electronics collected was resold “in some fashion.” If an item could not be resold, it might be stripped for parts to be used separately or used to fix other things. The rest would be sent to “a responsible third-party vendor to be broken down or destroyed,” Kao said in the NYTNS story.
Senior citizen discount
Will the proper government agency issue standardized rules on how discounts under the senior citizens law should be applied?
A colleague bought coffee and pastries for takeout from a Select convenience store in a Shell gasoline station. When she presented her senior citizen card, she was told the 20 percent discount was given only if the items were consumed inside the establishment. The discount did not apply to takeout food.
Is this to make sure the senior citizen is really the one who will eat the food? I do not think a cup of coffee and a croissant will be shared by an army.
A Red Ribbon outlet gives a discount for only one piece of a 10-piece bag of mamon. Does store management think a senior citizen should eat only one mamon?
Ikebana at the mall
Professor Kiyotaka Kobayashi of the Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Floral Art in Kyoto, Japan, will conduct a demonstration on June 30, 2 p.m., at the Glorietta Activity Center, Ayala Malls. Visitors interested in the Japanese flower arrangement may want to check out the free session, organized in cooperation with the Embassy of Japan.
Kobayashi is also conducting a seminar-workshop on the latest trends of Ikebana for the Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Manila on June 27-29 at the Design Center Philippines.
The Glorietta Ikebana exhibit will be open until July 5, with lecture-demonstrations at 3 p.m. everyday. Featured lecturers are: Serapion Metilla and Lupe Lazaro (July 1); Tess Calunsod, Aida Villanueva and Nina Ramos (July 2); Tin Abalos, Liling Nuguid and Tess Baldonado (July 3); Joyce Kato, Mila Robles and Missy Ignacio (July 4); and Dr. Jun Balderrama, Metilla and Dr. Norie Balderrama (July 5).
Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., 1204 Makati City; fax 8974793/94; or e-mail [email protected].
