'Producers responsible for hi-tech junk'

Mercury, a neurotoxin that is used in such things as batteries and flat-panel display monitors or screens, is often found in polluted water. Experts say that the carcinogenic substances found in electronic appliances would not harm human beings or the environment if they were properly disposed off. The Jakarta Post asked some residents about what they do with their old electronic devices.

Ahmad Safrudin, 36, is a noted environmentalist. He lives with his family in Citayam subdistrict, Bogor:

The disposal and recycling of old consumer durables and electronic devices, including batteries, should be the responsible of the producers. There are clear mechanisms applied in this regard in many developed countries. We don't have such mechanisms here.

I myself collect used batteries and send them to the producers every six months because I know that they contain dangerous substances, particularly mercury. But I don't know what the producers do with the old batteries, whether they dispose of them properly our just dump them somewhere else.

I do all this to let the producers know that they are responsible for their products. The problem is that we don't have the necessary legislation to make them shoulder this responsibility.

I upgrade my electronic goods at repair shops so I don't have to replace them often. But I agree we must begin to think about where we must put all this electronic junk. Otherwise, we will see mountains of old gadgets building up.

Aries Fajar, 33, is an information technology officer with a bank on Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta. He lives with his wife and two children in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta:

I usually take the easy way out in getting rid of electronic appliances that are beyond repair -- I just give them away to a repair shop rather than having the stuff fill up my house.

If even the repair shop doesn't want to take the stuff, I just leave them out with the garbage, and some scavenger will eventually pick them up.

What they then do with the stuff is their business.

Actually, I'd also be interested in trading the old stuff in for newer products, but trying to do this is sometimes too much of a hassle.

They sometimes require the appliance to be in relatively good condition, or still complete with the cables and remote control.

So again, it's much easier to just throw it away.

--The Jakarta Post