The EPA is trying to promote the purchase of green products through a number of initiatives, including its epeat.net Web site, which lists manufacturers that have agreed to reduce the amount of toxic materials used in their products. This has had some influence, Lindsay says, because whether domestic or foreign, manufacturers want to have a good reputation in this country. Another program is Plug-In, which encourages manufacturers and retailers to take back used electronics so that customers do not simply throw them in the weekly trash.
PC makers including Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Sony now take back their products at no charge—an aggressive approach to a clean environment, CPA's McPherson says. But she notes that with the exception of Sony, the same cannot be said of most TV manufacturers.
Since September, Sony has allowed its consumer electronics customers to drop off their old products at one of Waste Management, Inc.'s 75 Recycle America eCycling drop-off sites throughout the U.S. Sony expects the number of these centers to double by the end of next year and plans to offer customers the option of shipping their used Sony products to the sites. This is part of a broader Sony goal of recycling one pound of old consumer electronics equipment for every pound of new products sold.
One Sony competitor has taken steps to produce a greener product. Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal U.S. subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., claimed in November 2006 that its plasma TVs featured lead oxide–free plasma display panels. The company estimated that last year it cut the use of about 300 metric tons of lead (roughly the weight of two 747 commercial airplanes) from its production environment.
PCs, however, are generally replaced more frequently than televisions. For that reason, computer manufacturers must make a concerted effort to take back old equipment from their customers, McPherson says. "We believe the research [shows that] if a company takes back its waste," she says, "it's more likely to design out harmful materials in the first place."
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7 Comments
Add CommentI work for a company in Janesville, Wisconsin that deals with the recycling of CRT Class, PC's, LCD's, and other general electronics. It amazes me to see the amount of "stuff" that comes through here on a daily basis. I'm the Data Security Manager at this facility I run the PC department on a daily basis we dismantle roughly 200 PC's. On a daily basis we repair roughly 80 older PC's for resale. We process thousands of pounds of glass from CRT monitors daily. We average over 30,000+ pounds of general electronics daily for processing. If you add all that up you're looking at unbelievable numbers, and that number is growing exponentially. Before working here I never would have imagined that e-waste was this bad but we are facing a serious problem here. Its great to see companies that are stepping up and setting an example but its going to take allot more than that if you don't believe me look up a local e-waste facility and go take a tour. We need to get a hold on this problem and fast!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreat article. Companies should stop caring so much for selling millions, and start caring more about the consequences of their products. Before overwhelming the market with cool new gadgets, and bombing consumers with their marketing strategies, they should take seriously their responsibility with e-waste and the environment. This article is very illuminating.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks for your comments on the story. It's a topic I'll continue to address as new developments unfold.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRemoving these components from our "back yard", exporting them to countries where the environmental laws are more lax is not the answer. We the developed countries who produce, use and profit from these products must first clean up the mess of our past mistakes and at the same time move toward "greener" IT.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMoving our IT wast off site onto another country where the environmental laws are lax is not a responsible answer to our problem. We need to handle these problems with all due respect to all the nations an people. Then we must move to greener technologies. We must think in radical ways with materials before ignored or politically discredited. Plastics can be replaced with more earth friendly biodegradable materials that have been around for EVER, but who's genetic family makes it a political "hot potato." We need to touch this "third rail" in material science and develop this material to its best degree and move from there to get even better stronger materials that are earth friendly. This is most "DO-able. " If we can just wrestle the chemistry sets away from the oil kids who think they have all the power and all the answers. Well their power is finite and their answer is: more, more, more. It's time to make them play nice with the rest of the world or else get out of the way
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhere do old mobiles and computers go to die? Read about it in the latest National Geographic - it's absolutely hideous. Out of sight is out of mind. No local municipality wants it all at the local tip - so it disappears.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisE waste is actually poisoning children before being swept out to sea. It then forms an island that is expanding with every piece of outdated gear that gets trashed.
I've never owned a mobile phone and I have lived without a computer or electricity quite happily. How many millions of other people out there will be virtually robbed of their identity and means of survival if and when the plug does finally fall out? We may yet be forced to transcend the machine age. What will you do?
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Edited by sculptmud at 01/25/2008 1:02 AM