It's recycling time at Sitex
Good response to cash offer for used electronic stuff
Hedirman Supian, Today Online 30 Nov 07;
YOU can save the earth while shopping for the latest gadgets at the Singapore Expo until Sunday.
At the Sitex 2007 consumer and electronics fair, organisers Singapore infocomm Technology Federation and Singex Exhibitions have partnered first-time exhibitors Cash Converters and Clean Solutions to encourage consumers to adopt green habits when it comes to disposing of electronic waste.
Consumers can trade in unwanted electronic wares at the Cash Converters booth for cash or dispose of them using recycling bins situated at the entrances to the event.
Revenue from the extraction of precious metals from the electronic refuse collected from the bins will be donated to the Society of the Physically Disabled.
Ms Rosalynn Chua, deputy general manager of Singex Exhibitions, said: "Today's technology is advancing at breakneck speed and IT models become obsolete very quickly
"We hope this exercise will inculcate the habit of going green, and promote the spirit of giving during this holiday season."
Response from visitors has been encouraging. According to Mr Richard Loi, an operations manager from Cash Converters, up to 80 items had been traded by lunchtime yesterday.
Items ranged from computer monitors and printers to laptops and game consoles. According to Mr Loi, the highest amount of cash given to a consumer so far was $400 for a used Intel Core 2 Duo Hewlett-Packard laptop.
A check at the recycling bins revealed computer accessories, desktop computers and old laptops like a Compaq Armada 4110 and an IBM Thinkpad.
"It's better than chucking it at the void deck," said polytechnic student Reika Ng, who was shopping for a wireless router at the fair.
"And you can get cash this way. I'd rather trade my stuff or recycle it."
Last year's event drew 680,000 visitors in four days and over $18 million in sales. The organisers are hoping to exceed the sales figures this year and attract more than 700,000 visitors.
