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IT Waste: IT bytes back
As our need for computer technology grows, what’s happening with the millions of old computers being thrown out? Our Future Planet boots up.
Little has been more central to planetary development than the growth in computing power and technology.
And with this the internet has totally changed how we communicate, do business, educate our children, in fact it influences nigh on every pattern of developed lives. And in developing countries, obtaining and expanding internet access is among the top development priorities.
It’s a pretty encouraging scenario, but sadly none of this is available without a cost. The IT technology market is incredibly vibrant, it’s among the top drivers behind some Eastern economies. On the supermarket floor, this is driving down prices, making ever more powerful technology available at ever more affordable rates.
The flipside to this is that many computers or mobile phones are now considered obsolete within a couple of years of launch. It’s cheaper to dispose of them than to fix them up. And even though most of us never use anything like the processing power available, we’re all buying the newest stuff.
IT equipment contains some pretty nasty substances, like Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Global legislation is moving to eliminate these chemical nasties. Indeed only this week the European Parliament has voted for the first moves towards banning dangerous chemicals in IT equipment.
The problem with using these things in IT, is that despite the fact recycling legislation should prevent them being buried in the ground, they still present a real danger to people, often working in poorly regulated IT reprocessing and recycling yards in India or China, where a lot of Western waste IT goes.
Computer chemicals
So what’s the answer to the IT waste dilemma? Reuse is an obvious option, but many campaigning agencies, like Greenpeace International, are calling for tougher rules and bans on the dangerous chemicals. If they’re not present in IT waste, recycling it will be that much safer.
“The problem is that there’s a lot of toxic material in IT waste,” explains Iza Kruszewska, Toxics Campaigner for Greenpeace International.
“IT contains many valuable things, like copper in cabling for example. So there’s a real incentive to recover this and use it again. But so often, and this doesn’t just take place in Africa, cables are being burnt in order to recover what’s inside.
“This is plainly not a good thing,” she explains. It’s not a pretty picture. ‘This releases heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury into the air and ashes,’ says Greenpeace International, describing incineration practices.
‘Mercury released into the atmosphere can bioaccumulate in the foodchain, particularly in fish - the major route of exposure for the general public. If the products contain PVC plastic, highly toxic dioxins and furans are also released. Brominated flame retardants generate brominated dioxins and furans when e-waste is burned.’
Greenpeace has exposed where this is taking place in countries like Ghana, Karachi, Delhi or Guyiu, where Greenpeace says groundwater is now undrinkable due to E waste.
We also need to remember computers still find their way into landfill too. ‘According to the US EPA, more than 4.6 million tonnes of e-waste ended up in US landfills in 2000,’ explains Greenpeace.
‘In many European countries, regulations have been introduced to prevent electronic waste being dumped in landfills due to its hazardous content. However, the practice still continues in many countries. In Hong Kong for example, it is estimated that 10 to 20 per cent of discarded computers go to landfill.’
It’s a worry, especially when, ‘the average lifespan of computers in developed countries has dropped from six years in 1997 to just two years in 2005. Mobile phones have a lifecycle of less than two years in developed countries. 183 million computers were sold worldwide in 2004 - 11.6 percent more than in 2003.’
And ‘inspections of 18 European seaports in 2005 found as much as 47 percent of waste destined for export, including e-waste, was illegal. In the UK alone, at least 23,000 metric tonnes of undeclared or ‘grey’ market electronic waste was illegally shipped in 2003 to the Far East, India, Africa and China. In the US, it is estimated that 50 to 80 percent of the waste collected for recycling is being exported in this way.’
Computing with a conscience
“We urgently need to design out toxins, and we can never totally stop E waste from going south,” continues Kruszewska. “Many companies are now developing far more sustainable and less harmful alternatives than what has previously been used.
“Also we need to take recycling far more seriously, and reduce our resource usage through this. Things like financial Producer Responsibility can help with this, for things like End of Life Vehicles and Packaging to an extent this is already in place. Maybe we can extend this to batteries or accumulators.
“In some ways I trust the companies to comply with the laws, perhaps more than governments. We need more voluntary takeback schemes, we need to stop the damage that is being done now.”
The scale of the existing scenario is not to be underplayed. Greenpeace estimates ‘25,000 workers are employed at scrap yards in Delhi alone, where 10 to 20,000 tonnes of e-waste is handled each year, 25 per cent of this being computers. Other e-waste scrap yards have been found in Meerut, Ferozabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai.’
The 15th Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics is designed to help cut out the harmful chemicals in IT. Launched at the end of May 2010, ‘Toshiba drop from 3rd to 14th position and Samsung from 7th to 13th with their new penalty points for failing to meet their commitment to phase out PVC and BFRs from their supply chain.’
‘The climbers in this edition of the Guide are Panasonic at 6th place up from 10th, Sony up from 7th to 6th (tied with Panasonic), HP up from 11th to 8th and Sharp from 13th to 9th.
‘LGE falls from 6th to 12th position, losing points for poor reporting on the energy efficiency of its products. LGE’s reporting of its latest Energy Star standards has been disregarded by Greenpeace as the company was criticised by regulatory authorities for twice manipulating these efficiency standards to its benefit.
‘While Toshiba, Dell, Lenovo, LGE and Samsung have broken their promises to eliminate polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from their products, competitors Hewlett Packard and Apple continue to manufacture products free of these toxic substances, showing that it can be done and be done at a competitive cost.’
As usual, it will require a combination of political leadership, willingness among companies to embrace more sustainable practices, and a tightening on how recycling is done to solve these issues.
One thing remains clear, IT waste growth is exponential and set to continue. This is not an issue that’s going away any time soon, so making the lifecycle, and not just the circuit board greener is a pressing goal.
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