That PC Report - On the local dead PC front | Greenbiz spreading the 'good news'.
Ben Cooper spotted this United Nations University report claiming that the humble PC has a much larger impact than previously thought: around 1.8 tonnes of raw material are required to manufacture the average desktop PC and monitor.
The report: Computers and the Environment: Understanding and Managing their impacts, edited by Ruediger Kuehr & Eric Williams, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 2003. For more info see United Nations University: IT and Environment Initiative
It has caused quite a stir in international media: best covered in Grist, BBC and InfoWorld. These articles include tips for PC reuse and recycling and links to international intiatives.
On the Local Dead PC Front
I thought we should mention a local option of choice, Work
Venture’s Computer Reuse Program. WorkVentures Connect is in the
business of turning ex corporate and government PCs and peripheral equipment
into affordable systems for disadvantaged families, schools and not for profit
organisations around Australia. You can buy very affordable refurbished PCs
online from $85.
The Total Environment Centre gives a run-down of PC recycling nationally and in NSW in the Computer Recycling Guide. As for monitors reaching landfill, do we know of any developments on the Centre for Design at RMIT's great CRT Pilot recycling scheme?
Is this spate of
Good News Stories about IT producers at all connected?
Has the UN report on PC impacts sent Silicon Valley into a spin or what? Have
a look at the latest spate of good news IT headlines that GreenBiz
are running (BBC published the UN report’s findings on March 8th):
Microsoft Announces PC Refurbishment Program for 133 Countries
PARIS, April 8, 2004 - The company will establish a community of 133 computer
refurbishers authorized to re-install its Windows operating system in donated
pre-used PCs destined for schools, charities, nonprofit organizations, and
underserved communities.
TOKYO, April 9, 2004 - Intel Corp. says it will begin eliminating approximately 95% of the lead used in its processors and chipsets starting later this year.
NEC Introduces Ecocare Program
NEW YORK, April 8, 2004 - The company has introduced a new recycling component
to its CustomerCare service program portfolio.
"In this environmentally conscious world, NEC customers can be assured
they have a partner that supports their recycling efforts to help ensure a
clean and healthy environment for generations to come," said Ron Gillies,
senior vice president and general manager for the Visual Systems Division
of NEC Solutions America. (Tuesday, April 6, 2004 Recycling Today) I feel
better, don’t you?
Michael Dell Wins Praise from Students for Computer Take-Back
Steps
ROUND ROCK, Texas, April 8, 2004 - Environmental activists lauded an open
letter from Michael Dell, founder and chairman of Dell, Inc., in response
to a full-page ad urging the company to more aggressively recycle used computers.
Silicon Valley Firms Unite to Promote Sustainability, Fight
Global Warming
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 31, 2004 - A coalition of major Silicon Valley companies
has announced an ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to collectively
combat global warming, one of the first such business collaborations in the
U.S.
U.S. EPA Teams with Dell to Recycle Computer Systems
WASHINGTON D.C., March 26, 2004 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
will work with Dell Inc. to recycle or redeploy its computer systems at the
end of their lifecycles, Dell announced at the Federal Office Systems Exposition.
Changes
is the Newsletter of Change Design,
the student branch of the
EcoDesign Foundation, Sydney | Questions
& Comments Welcome
Last Updated April 2004