There's gold in that old pc...
BEFORE you dismiss your old personal computer as totally worthless junk, consider this-you may be throwing away gold.
Just ask homegrown company Citiraya Industries
It recycles about 15,000 tonnes of electronic waste each year from more than 100 companies, 72 of them large multinationals (MNCs), and extracts precious metals from the junk.
Said Citiraya president Ng Teck Lee: "We recover metals like gold, palladium, silver and copper from the electronic waste."
They recover these metals and sell them mainly to the electronics industry. Some of the recovered gold is sold to jewellery shops here and overseas, to be made into jewellery.
It is the IT industry that produces most of the recycleable waste, including computer-circuit boards, mobile phones and used printers.
The waste is broken down into fine granules. Citiraya uses state-of-the-art technology to extract the metals. From each kilogram of waste may come 20-cents’ worth — or as much as a dollar - of precious metals, said Mi Ng.
Citiraya does not charge a fee if the metals recovered are worth more than the recovery cost, only when there is little to be recovered or if the waste is toxic. Conversely, it pays its, suppliers for the metals recovered if they are worth more than the treatment cost.
Mr M.G.M. Ansurj, Citiraya’s overseas marketing manager, said: "We try our best to recover the most we can."
Its $40-million plant in Tuas South has invested heavily in environment-friendly equipment, including a 24-hour online system to monitor emissions after the waste is burnt.
‘l’he company has done well enough to branch out and treat waste in 11 other countries. They have either set up plants or linked up with other companies there to treat waste.
Singapore’s worldwide reputation for having strong environmental laws makes it easier for the campany to sell its services abroad, he said.
The company also uses technology developed by its own research-and-decelopment laboratory and does its best to stay abreast of the latest technology.
It has, for example, begun barcoding all its waste, so that customers can track their waste easily from when it is picked up, until it is fully disposed. The one-time cost for this was $1.2 million.
Mr Lee credited the company's success to the strong support it received from MNCs, which have recommended Citiraya's services to their branches elsewhere.
Constant demand for metals was also a factor.
The contamination that results from mining is another reason for recycling, said Mr Ansuri." Metals are limited in the world and mining is not economical at this time, so recycling is the only way."
Being local is another reason for keeping the recycling plant here, despite cheaper costs elsewhere.
Said Mr Ng:" I am a Singaporean. I should clean up my own waste here first, before cleaning it up for other countries."
-By Sharmipal Kaur
Source : The Straits Times, May 26, 2001
Recycling Point Dot Com
(C) 2000 All Rights Reserved