Before throwing away a computer or a telephone, Samuel de Rosnay proposes, with Data Labs LtdThey can be reconditioned or optimized for other uses. Second-hand products would help reduce the amount of electronic waste, which is growing at the fastest rate… Dominique Bellier
Mauritius is expected to produce 15,000 tonnes of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) this year, including computers and telephones, a figure that may be updated by the hazardous waste inventory launched in September. This estimate by the Ministry of the Environment is based on annual growth of 5%.
The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Act of July 2024 provides for regulations based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), with an ecotax applied to the purchase of appliances. Currently under review by the State Law Office, these regulations will lead to the creation of a non-profit organization, which will manage this EPR and oversee WEEE collection, recycling and the export of hazardous components…
In the meantime, out-of-date equipment is disposed of at the Civics Amenity Centres in La Laura, Poudre d’Or and La Chaumière, or stored in storage rooms. But how can we be sure that a phone or computer is really beyond repair? Samuel de Rosnay, founder of Data Labs Ltd, offers to recondition them.
“Most people don’t need the latest computers. Reconditioned equipment would be perfect for them, if it weren’t for the prejudice that repairing costs more than buying new. But that’s not true! I’m working hard to demonize second-hand, by repairing or reconditioning these appliances. Otherwise, the appliance still contains working parts… ” Did you know, for example, that a washing machine motor can be used to power a domestic wind turbine? Or that an old telephone can be optimized to combat deforestation?
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