The facts about e-waste make for a compelling reason why Zain Bahrain has adopted responsible e-waste disposal of handsets, mobile phone batteries and other accessories as its major CSR initiative from 2011.
The Zain National Mobile Phone and e-Waste Recycling Campaign gives the public a chance to participate in a hassle-free manner in the management of e-waste. As with all things that Zain Bahrain does, this too is a simple process: anyone, whether Zain customer or not, can discard their broken and unusable mobile handsets in special drop-boxes placed in the Zain Experience shops. The e-waste generated by this initiative will be collected, sorted and professionally disposed of in the safest manner possible by Zain Bahrain, who has engaged Enviroserve, a respected environmental waste disposal company for this task. Those who drop off their wasted handsets, meanwhile, can enter a raffle draw to win a new handset. “The Zain National Mobile Phone and e-Waste Recycling Campaign plays an essential role in our community,” said Zain Bahrain’s General Manager Mohammed Zainalabedin.
“We believe that it is time to step up to the plate and provide a solution for this e-waste concern. We have made this an interactive CSR initiative by offering participants a raffle ticket to enter our draw and win a new handset from Zain Bahrain. The biggest bonus is that you can rest easy that your discarded mobile handset will be disposed of in a responsible manner that is environmentally safe.”
Bahrain, despite being a small market, has one of the most liberal telecoms sectors in the region and telecoms technology is embraced easily here. This has led to a high turnover in mobile handsets as customers invest in new handsets that will allow new technology downloads.
“We are proud to have Zain Bahrain as our partner in promoting this Call To Action for all Bahraini citizens and residents in support of a greener, healthier state. E-waste is the largest growing waste stream globally,” said Stuart Fleming, CEO of Enviroserve.
“It is growing at a rate of three times faster than any other type of waste and the worrying thing is, it’s the most dangerous form of waste within the general waste management umbrella. Every day, hundreds of phones are disposed of to landfill sites where they are destroying our natural habitat with acids and hazardous products which enter our groundwater system. This must stop. We are renting this world from future generations. We must ensure we hand it on in the same condition we were given it by our forefathers.”
“Zain’s campaign is all about safely collecting mobile phone e-waste and we have not only made the process simple, but Zain has helped us to design a transparent system of safe disposal and a rewards scheme that ensures that everybody has added incentive to participate,” he added.
Corporate Communications Manager Samya Hussein said the Zain National Mobile Phone and e-Waste Recycling Campaign was created to help every resident of Bahrain to help the environment and support the movement for a cleaner, greener Bahrain.
“The bulk of a mobile handset consists of components that are plastic, ceramic, or metals. Almost all components of a mobile handset can be either recycled or used in a way so that nothing goes into landfills as e-waste,” Samya Hussein explained.
“Mobile handset chargers can be recycled as well as other mobile accessories. But to do all this, we need to begin with a first step – the collection of these handsets. This is why the Zain National Mobile Phone and e-Waste Recycling Campaign is so important.”
“We urge our media friends and green NGO representatives to spread the word and request the public to take this easy step in favor of our Planet Earth. Zain Bahrain believes that creating A Wonderful World is in our hands and we need your collaboration to do so,” she added.