Recycling
push picks up in local
high-tech sector
High Tech Office column;
Business in Vancouver March 13-19, 2007; issue 907
by Alan Zisman (c) 2007
Slowly, the high-tech office is getting on the environmental bandwagon,
with a growing number of programs from corporations, non-profits and
government.
Major technology companies are increasing the visibility of their
recycling programs, for instance:
HP
notes that in
the past year, it has recycled more than 74 million kilograms of
hardware and print cartridges, a 16% increase over the previous year.
That puts the company on target to recycle a total of one billion
pounds (455 million kilograms) by the end of 2007.
Hardware recycled by HP in Canada goes to the
Noranda recycling
facility in Brampton, Ontario. Other computer manufacturers, including
Lenovo and
Dell, also have
recycling programs in place for customers of older models.
Toshiba
Canada is offering to recycle non-working laptops, LCD
monitors and PDAs. Users making use of the company’s TERRE
program (
www.toshiba.ca/web/link?id=2200)
can arrange for free shipping to Toshiba and will receive a USB flash
drive as a token of appreciation. Unlike HP and Dell,
Toshiba’s
program accepts hardware made by any manufacturer, but only in the
product areas where Toshiba is active.
Rogers
Wireless
is working with the Canadian Association of Food Banks’
Phones-for-Food program by including postage-paid recycling envelopes
with selected mobile phone models. Users wanting to recycle other
mobile phones (from Rogers or other providers) can print their own
postage-paid envelopes from www.phonesforfood.com. Donated phones are
sold to remanufacturers, raising funds for local food banks.
It’s not all about recycling, however.
Printer manufacturer
Lexmark,
for example, calls its new E-series monochrome lasers and C530 colour
laser printers “green machines,” because the
company
maintains they reduce their environmental footprint compared with
earlier models.
Computers
for Schools (
www.cfsbc.ca)
solicits donations of Pentium III (or better) and 17-inch (or larger)
monitors, which are made available to schools and libraries across B.C.
It has distributed more than 85,000 computers within B.C. since 1994;
nationwide, CFS has distributed nearly 800,000 systems. Pick-ups are
available for donations of 20 or more pieces within the Lower Mainland.
New in Vancouver is a recycling depot run by the
Electronic Recycling Association
(
www.era.ca).
It joins ERA’s facilities in Edmonton and Calgary.
ERA solicits donations from individuals, small and large businesses and
government departments, making computer systems available at no charge
to schools, non-profits, libraries and other community organizations.
Unlike Computers for Schools, it collects older or non-working
electronic equipment and arranges recycling for whatever
can’t be
reused. Like CFS, the association will pick up bulk donations.
B.C. is planning to institute a program of electronics recycling
effective June 1 in an attempt to help keep computers, monitors,
printers and televisions out of landfills.
A system of transfer stations and collection depots will be set up to
encourage people and businesses to drop off unused hardware, and an
environmental handling fee will be tacked on to new hardware, under the
aegis of a new non-profit Electronic Stewardship British Columbia
program and administered by
Encorp
Pacific (
www.encorp.ca).