High Tech Junk is piling up
by Alan Zisman
(c) 2000. First
published in Vancouver Computes,
November
2000
Think high tech and the image is of a clean, New Age
industry. Lots
of high-paying jobs that don't destroy the environment. Right?
So what about yesterday's high tech products? Many
home users and even
more businesses are now going through their second, third, fourth, or
even
more generations of computers. For a while, many were able to disguise
this by passing older technology products down through the ranks of the
organization.
The boss always gets the newest, fastest computer,
even though he (or
she) may never turn it on.
High tech hand-me-downs trickle through the company
hierarchy. But most
businesses are saturated with computers, monitors, laser printers, and
the like.
Instead, storage rooms in office towers throughout the
Lower Mainland
(and everywhere else) tend to be filled to over-flowing with
yesterdays's
technology, typically still in good working order. After all, there's
no
longer any point in pulling out the RAM?newer computers need faster RAM
with a physically different size and shape. And the hard drives from
yesterday's
computers lack the capacity to hold today's beefy operating systems and
applications.
I suppose all those computers could just be tossed
out. And more and
more, computer equipment is ending up as land fill, where they make up
a growing percentage of our garbage.
But despite high tech industry's clean image, high
tech trash isn't
so benign. A typical monitor, for example, uses 2-3 kg of lead as the
radiation
shield for the cathode ray tube (CRT). Lead, which makes up 25% of the
typical monitor's weight, is a major hazard in the environment. It can
cause nervous system damage in people and animals, including brain
damage
in children. As a result, lead has been banned as an additive in paint
and gasoline.
As a result, last March, the US state of Massachusetts
banned the dumping
of computer monitors. They noted that state residents were dumping or
incinerating
75,000 tons of electronic equipment a year, a figure that was estimated
would increase to 300,000 tons by 2005 if nothing was done.
Monitors are not the only computer part with lead?as
part of the solder
used to connect electronic parts, it is found throughout the common
printed
circuit boards. Batteries contain other toxic heavy metals such as
cadmium
and mercury. The fear is that these metals, in dumped computers would
enter
the environment by seeping into groundwater. And consumer electronics,
including computers, is estimated to account for 40% of the lead and
other
heavy metals in landfills.
Typically, those computers, monitors, and other
electronics in the dump
are crushed. As rain falls on the lead and other toxic metals, mixed
with
glass, it dissolves into the water table. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) was
used in older plastic casings and cables. If incinerated, it releases
highly
toxic dioxins.
The European Economic Community is studying a proposal
to force electronics
manufacturers to take responsibility for the safe disposal of their
products.
Not surprisingly, PC and electronics companies are lobbying against the
waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) plan. The American
Electronics
Association, a trade group including the likes of Microsoft, Intel, and
IBM, is claiming that the proposed directive, which would force
manufacturers
to set up programs to reuse and recycle their products, violates trade
rules of the World Trade Organization.
The Association's position, which also opposes the
plan's call for manufacturers
to phase out use of toxic chemicals in their manufacturing processes,
has
gained the support of the US Trade Representative. Perhaps as a result
of industry and US pressure, the EEC plan is being watered-down. The
deadline
for phasing out use of hazardous chemicals has been pushed back from
2004
to 2008, for example.
If the EEC passes a measure with real teeth, it could
have a world-wide
impact. It would not only affect European manufacturers, but also any
company
wanting to do business in Europe?in effect, all the major industry
players.
For now though, the responsibility for dealing with
no-longer-wanted
computers and other electronic equipment rests with the buyers: you and
I.
In many cases, older equipment can be donated to
schools or other non-profit
organizations. The Science Council of BC sponsors Computers for
Schools,
a project to gather up donated computers from businesses and
individuals,
makes sure they are in running order, clean off the hard drives of
programs
and data, and place them in schools. CFS claims to have helped place
over
30,000 computers into BC schools (http://www.scbc.org/CFS/),
redirecting
over
200 tons of equipment each year that otherwise might have
ended up in landfills.
Schools shouldn't be thought of as dumping grounds,
however. Most schools
cannot find a use for pre-Windows PCs, and even 386s, running Windows
3.1
are less and less welcome.