Light in the end of the (recycled plastics) tunnel

Tags: computer display, computers, e-waste, Green IT, Recycled plastic, TCO Certified Edge

Imagine if all computer monitors contained 65% post consumer recycled plastic. Five years from now, the industry would have reduced carbon emissions by approximately 860 million kg  and saved energy corresponding to that used to fuel 280 000  cars a year. Not to mention the prevention of toxic e-waste !

Judging by some of the products we’ve been certifying in recent weeks, we may be making some moves toward that goal.

Incorporating recycled plastic content into ICT products has been a tough challenge for manufacturers. Despite good intentions, a lack of reliable sources of high quality materials at required volumes has been one of the major hurdles to including recycled content in our PC products. But this week we’ve been able to present several displays from Phillips and All in One computers by Lenovo with our TCO Certified Edge award for featuring a high percentage of post consumer recycled content. Check the newsletter or searchable database for full details.

The Lenovo L2230x Wide USB Port Replicator Monitor – For You and the Planet!

Tags: docking station, e-waste, elminates the need for additional office equipment, Lenovo, Lenovo L2230x, office equipment, replicator, TCO Certified Edge, usability, usability quality, USB contact, USB port

The Lenovo L2230x Wide display carries the label TCO Certified Edge, meaning it has an extra beneficial quality over the criteria we normally esteem for both You and the Planet (read more about Lenovo’s TCO Certified Edge display). Another usability quality about this display that has impressed us still more is its ability, via a single USB contact, to replicate a Laptop computer without the need of a docking station.

We assessed the Lenovo L2230x USB port replicator at our office and agree with Lenovo that this display allows the user to connect all peripherals such as mouse, keyboard, speakers, microphone, LAN access, whilst it extends the notebook display to a full HD format with only one USB connection between the notebook and the monitor.

This functionality really fits into the concept of “you and the planet” as it feels extremely handy to come to the office and with only one USB contact replicate a Notebook on a desktop monitor without the need for a docking  Lstation. We also value innovative displays such as the L2230x from an environmental perspective since it eliminates the need for additional office equipment (docking station) such that causes E-waste.

Minimize the toxic cocktail from your computer

Tags: bio-accumulative, chemical substances, chemicals, cocktail of chemicals, computers, defence of the unborn, dioxins, e-waste, flame retardant, hazardous substances, IT equopment, presticides, recycling, RoHS, stefan Jarl, Submission, TCO label

We are constantly exposed to new chemicals – through the air we breathe, the food we eat, what we drink and through our skin. Young people today have higher concentration of chemicals such as brominated flame retardants than ever before. Studies have shown that newborns have on average around 200 synthetic chemicals in their blood, chemicals like pesticides, dioxins and flame retardants. Levels in our environment, including our food and water, keep on increasing.

No one knows what effect these chemicals have on us, on animals or the environment – especially not in this complicated mix, the “cocktail” of chemicals we are exposed to today. The Swedish film-maker Stefan Jarl recently made a documentary Submission – in defence of the unborn, featuring 23 professors from around the world. In the documentary Jarl seeks to find out just what problems these chemicals can cause, and the lingering effects they can have on unborn children. Have a look at a trailer for this interesting movie here  (the trailer is in English).

IT equipment contains plenty of different hazardous metals, chemicals and materials. Legislation has prohibited a few (the EU RoHS directive for instance) but there is so much more that needs to be done. Tonnes of E-waste are being burned in backyards in China or Africa, polluting both the environment and us – these chemicals are both persistent and bio-accumulative and travel far. One group of substances causing a lot of concerns is the halogenated, specifically the brominated and chlorinated. When the E-waste is burned under insufficient conditions – as a lot of the millions of tonnes of E-waste are today – hazardous dioxins, furans and other chemicals are released. These are then transferred to our food, water and finally, to us.

So what should we do? We can obviously not wait for our legislators to prohibit all potentially harmful substances. When it comes to IT equipment and the chemicals they contain there are several things we can do ourselves.

1. Buy eco labelled products! The TCO certification program prohibited brominated and chlorinated substances and materials and hazardous metals in the certified products 1995 – over 10 years before the European RoHS directive. And we have continuously added and toughened the requirements since then. 
2. Use your vacuum cleaner at home. A lot. It reduces the amount of brominated flame retardants, phthalates and other harmful substances flying around in your home.
3.  Have plenty of green plants at home. They also purify indoor air from harmful chemicals.
4. Leave your old electronics and all other hazardous waste for recycling – it reduces the amount of hazardous chemicals in the community in the long run.

The New Face of E-Waste ?

Tags: e-waste, environment, hazardous substances

For years now many of us have worked to alleviate the problem of E-Waste – the growing piles of electronic junk that either lands in our wastestream or is exported to developing countries, where improper disposal frequently exposes the local population to health and environmental risks.

But consider this – the developing world also represents a large growth market for PCs and other consumer electronics. What happens to all those products at the end of their use ? In a new study published this week in the American Chemical Society’s semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology, the authors claim that developing countries will produce at least twice as much electronic waste, or e-waste, as developed countries by 2030.

Go to the study here

Adding to the e-waste

Tags: Asus, e-waste, environment, Green IT, lap top, laptop, TCO Certified

A dear friend of my wife’s – her Asus notebook PC-  is ill. It’s only three years old and the battery is dead, the RAM is too small and she would need a bigger hard drive to fit all her photos. The symptoms don’t sound too serious but listen to this. Asus does not sell the battery type for this relic any longer, the RAM type can not be expanded (at least not by Asus) and the only hard drive that can fit is only 80GB (20GB larger than the present one). This PC is three years old and already facing its death! The only economically sound option, from the user’s perspective, is to buy a new one and add some e-waste to the world.