Proper Product Disposal and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

I was clearing out my wardrobe this morning when I remembered it's time to change the moisture absorbers. You see, in a hot and humid climate like this we'll need moisture absorbers to keep mold from forming on our household fixtures. Moisture absorbers come in many different kinds - packet, container and set. 

Packet is the type used to hold silica gel (I seldom use it because I don't find them very effective) and set is the bigger ones that resemble household appliances and is used for overall removal of humidity in open spaces. What I'm talking about today is the container sized ones used in closed spaces like wardrobes, drawers or cabinets. This is the one I last used for my wardrobe:

Thirsty Hippo

Even though it's really hot and humid here, we use these things only in certain areas of our house because we realised that mold grows (consistently) only in these spots and not for most other areas. It's probably not very obvious, but if you look closer there is some liquid in this container. It looks like water, but if you observe carefully it's probably some chemical solution in water. The problem is, I have no idea how to dispose of this solution and this container. You only get this solution after you open the package and start using it. No instructions on the package on how to dispose this whole thing.

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The whole container is covered with just a thin, blank non-woven fabric and a plastic top. No disposal instructions on label or engraved anywhere on this whole thing.

This is a photo of my new moisture absorber, Kiwi Fresh. A new, unused and unopened package will have some little white styrofoam-like beads as shown above in place of the liquid. So only after you tear open the lining at the top then the liquid will start to form over the length of usage. As seen here, there are also no instructions on how to dispose it after usage.

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Two different brands, same practice. No disposal instructions anywhere on the product. I've used another brand, Thirsty Camel and it too does not have disposal instructions. I have a hard time deciding on how to dispose every time we finished using them (which is like, every 3-6 months). It's not as if only a few drops of water is collected; it's quite a significant amount- in fact half of this container. 

You see, I'm sure some people would say I'm fussing over a small issue. But what if somebody told you your tap water or local water supply contains possible hazardous chemicals like this? Will you still allow your children to drink it? Or even bathe in it?

Actually the problem goes beyond personal. You might say, just flush the liquid down the toilet bowl - that way nobody will consume it. Yes, perhaps nobody in this country will consume this. But how will we know outside of it? Will it affect our local waste handling processes? 

I have tried contacting RB about this, but till date no response from them.

The best solution I found was this over at instructables.com by fellow Singaporean Wauter. It's quite useful but seems a little dangerous and (too be honest) way too many steps. I don't think we normal laymen can actually carry these out on our own.

Actually whether the stuff is hazardous material or not, I think it's the responsibility of every manufacturer of household chemicals to insert disposal instructions (of both content and packaging) on the labels.

I think this is an often overlooked but critical issue because these moisture absorbers can in fact also be found in dollar discount stores like Daiso, where almost anyone (including children) has access to them. Most of the time these manufacturers just indicate "Ingredients: Calcium Chloride" on them, but the fact is, not everyone knows what this calcium chloride is. It is also a pity to have to dispose the packaging because we have no idea what to do with the stuff inside. To be realistic, there is only so many containers we consumers can reuse. 

I noticed that companies and governments hardly touch on the issue of corporate social responsibility. Nowadays there is so much production going on, companies are making so many things but nobody is talking about disposing what they made. There is a lot of hype about it in schools and universities but that's what it is - NATO (no action, talk only).

I believe that's the problem - and even more so for end-product items like plastics, household chemicals, consumer electronics and the like. That's because end-users like us come from a variety of backgrounds and not all will know how to dispose items that manufacturers made. Things like unused cooking oil that has exceeded its expiry date, used batteries and bulbs and used crayons all contribute to this list.

Nowadays manufacturers are making plastics faster than bacteria multiplies. Every few months we buy a new bottle of Johnson's shampoo- no, not a recyclable packet, but a bottle. Because they don't sell the shampoo in recyclable packets, only bottles. So every month we think of what to do with an empty shampoo bottle. After a year, it'll be 12 empty shampoo bottles (and the dispensers too, don't forget) and after two years, it'll be 24 empty shampoo bottles. What do you do with so many used shampoo bottles and dispensers, Johnson & Johnson? 

(Updated 10/05/2015 p/s: when I went to the drugstore at Chinatown a few days ago, I saw recyclable packets of J&J shampoo manufactured last year.)

   

What makes the whole issue worse is that governments are not willing to do anything about these, despite knowing the environmental effects of consumer waste. And manufacturers like J& J and Apple earn so much per year from contributing to this waste they ought to at least give back in the same way- by 'cleaning up the mess' they made, or at least reducing it. There are children in other parts of the world picking from rubbish sites, and big companies like these are contributing to it. Shouldn't they at least take some of the blame?

Ok, I think that's enough ranting for the day. By now it should be obvious, I can't accept the fact that companies can get away with not taking responsibility for their own wastes. But I don't think I'm the only one against this.