We Gave the President of Singapore a piece of Electronic Waste - SGBono

We had a blast over the weekend during the Digital for Life Festival that was held in conjunction with East Coast Digital Festival at Heartbeat@Bedok.

There were exhilarating e-sport competitions going on in the main stage area, dozens of booths related to helping people navigate the digital world and crowds flowing through the entire complex. Other than the mask on people’s faces, one might forget that the COVID-19 pandemic is still lingering in the background. Nevertheless, it is good to see everyone there interacting, playing games, and learning about the digital world.

Tucked away in a little room on level 3, were us and our partner, SG Bono, busy preparing for the workshops and IT tech advisory booths. SG Bono set up several desks and had their volunteers ready to help people having issues with their computers and fix them. We prepared a hands-on experience workshop for kids to dismantle used hard disk drives (e-waste) and upcycle them into framed art.

We had an enjoyable time guiding the kids and their accompanying parents on how to dismantle the hard disk drives, walking them through what the components are and how they work. Eventually, affixing the components onto a board encased in a wooden frame where they can display their creation at home. Through the process, not only did the kids have fun, but they also learned about electronic waste and recycling.

Midway through the process, we had Mdm President Halimah Yacob, DPM Heng Swee Keat, Minister Josephine Teo and Minister Tan Kiat How gracing the event and interacting with everyone there. We had a wonderful time sharing about what we do and the impact of our work on the environment and society. We talked about digitalization, the electronic devices we use and the e-waste we all generate, shared concerns and how we as a recycler can help everyone towards greater sustainability. After which, we presented them each with the framed e-waste art and we were excited about how delighted they were when they received it.

We, KGS, worked closely with corporate clients to help them move towards sustainability by recycling their e-waste better, educating them about e-waste recycling and offering avenues for them to have a do good by donating decommissioned laptops. Through such events, we hope to reach more people and corporates to get involved in society’s sustainability journey. Every effort counts. Waste is not waste until you choose to waste it.

About our partner – SGbono

SGBono is a registered society with the Registry of Societies, Singapore since 21st Nov 2018.

They are a group of compassionate volunteers in Singapore, comprising engineers, IT experts, power users and enthusiasts wanting to give back to society. They offer IT repair and advisory services and donate refurbished laptops to low-income families to help them cope with the increasingly digitized society we live in.

We are working closely with them to facilitate donations of laptops from corporates and individuals, curate suitable devices and assist in refurbishment.