e-Waste

In a nutshell
Electrical and electronic waste at or near the end of its life. Includes computers, monitors, peripherals, office equipment, TVs, mobile phones, hi-fi and home video equipment and consumables such as print/ink cartridges. Fluorescent tubes too.

The issues

• Components contain toxic materials and are non biodegradable. Includes PCBs, lead, cadmium, arsenic, chromium, mercury, flame retardants, plastics and trace amounts of many other elements. (see fig. 1)
• Present both occupational and environmental health threats, including toxic smoke from recycling processes and leaching from e-waste in landfill into local water tables.
• Valuable materials which could be reclaimed such as gold and platinum.
• Major global problem.
• Volumes increasing every year.
• Low rate of recycling.
• Shipment to developing countries for recycling and processing is causing human and environmental pollution. (see movie below)
• With more homes moving to flat screen TVs, many old CRT models are being dumped before the end of their life.

Statistics
The US Environmental Protection Agency estimated a 5 to 10% annual increase in e-waste generated internationally, yet less than 5% of all e-waste is being recovered.
In Australia, an estimated 1.6 million computers would be sent to landfill in 2006. Hazardous waste material comprising of computers alone was expected to exceed 7,200 tonnes.

figure 1. material composition of personal computers

Solutions

• Buy environmentally responsible computers (and other products). EPEATs tool and criteria can guide you.
• Make the equipment last longer. Maintain it and only replace it once it has passed its useful life.
• At the office: try pyramid PC distribution, where the staff needing the most computing power get the new PC and their old one is passed on to staff who use PCs less intensively. This has the added bonus of reducing capital cost as well as providing upgrades to more staff. Though it does cost more IT support staff time.
• An alternative for office PCs, use them with open source software (such as Linux) which provides useable performance with less processing power.
• If the product has any life remaining, sell it on eBay or donate it to an organization which refurbishes and redistributes equipment. In Australia try here, specifically Victoria, here too.
• Check whether the manufacturer has an extended producer responsibility (EPR) or take-back program under which they will collect/recycle them. Dell and HP have.
• If you are in an area with regulations on e-waste (e.g. the EU), follow the required procedures.
• Printer and ink cartridges should be recycled via local suppliers or collection points.

References
http://www.ecoaction.com.au/category.php?id=55
http://www.epeat.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-waste
http://www.cleanup.org.au/au/
http://www.envict.org.au/