Toxic contamination: Keeping TVs, computers, electronic waste out of landfills

Saving the environment: All our unwanted electrical appliances need to be carefully taken apart for recycling to recover usable materials and prevent pollution. Photo: SAMUEL ONG/THE STAR

With an ever-mounting plethora of electronic devices that become obsolete all too fast, e-waste has become a mountainous problem.

Some of the most hazardous waste are generated by you and I. Our old fluorescent lights. Computers and laptops. Mobile phones. Batteries. Refrigerators. Air-conditioners. TVs. Some of these unwanted electronics and electrical appliances, or e-waste, quickly disappear when left at the curbside or at recycling centres as they contain reusable plastics, metals and even precious metals like gold and silver.