How data on devices sent for recycling gets destroyed

Methods include shredding, using machines that render hard drives unreadable

- Lee Li Ying

Electronic devices - from the smartphone in your pocket to the laptop you use daily at work - contain metals and plastic that can be recovered when a device becomes obsolete.

Singapore generates an estimated 60,000 tonnes of e-waste each year. To boost recycling rates, the Republic introduced an extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme in 2021.

This initiative holds producers of certain electrical and electronic equipment responsible for ensuring the proper collection and treatment of products at the end of a device or appliance's life.

These include items such as laptops, mobile phones, modems, routers, set-top boxes and TV sets.

Across the island, there are now more than 800 collection points for e-waste.

But only 22,300 tonnes of regulated consumer e-waste have been collected since the scheme's inception.

To allay consumer concerns about data privacy during e-waste recycling, members of the media were hosted to a tour at e-waste recycling firm MeTech Recycling for an in-depth look into how data from sensitive devices is destroyed as part of the process.