E-waste is a big problem plaguing the global environment. Especially in developed countries, due to the rapid replacement of electronic products, electronic waste generated faster. According to statistics, Germany produces 1.8 million tons of electronic waste each year, France 1.5 million tons, the whole of Europe about 6 million tons. And the United States is even more amazing, only out of the computer will soon reach 300 million to 600 million units.
Electronic waste is not only a large amount and serious harm. If not handled properly on people and the environment caused serious harm. In particular, television, computers, cell phones, stereos and other products, containing a large number of toxic and harmful substances. Waste household appliances mainly contain six kinds of harmful substances: lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polyvinyl chloride plastic, brominated flame retardants. The cathode ray tube of a television set, the solder on the printed circuit board and the plastic shell are all toxic substances. The cathode ray tube of a television set contains four to eight pounds of lead. It takes more than 700 chemicals to make a computer, which contains more than 300 chemicals that are harmful to humans. The average amount of lead in a computer monitor is more than 1 kilogram. Elemental lead can damage a person's nerves, blood system, and kidneys. more than 20 years ago, the U.S. government banned the use of lead paint in buildings. Computer batteries and switches contain chromium compounds and mercury. Chromium compounds penetrate through the skin and cells and can trigger asthma; mercury destroys the nerves in the brain; chromium and mercury in the chassis and disk drives have a huge destructive effect on the DNA of human cells and brain tissue. If these electronic wastes are casually discarded or buried, a large number of harmful substances seep into the ground, resulting in serious pollution of groundwater; if incinerated, a large number of toxic gases will be released, resulting in air pollution.
(Electronic recycling is the same as the one above, and I found some of HP's policy measures here)
In fiscal 2006, which ended Oct. 31, 2006, the company has recycled 1,100 tons of used computer hardware in the Asia-Pacific and Japan regions. That figure is equivalent to the weight of 3,100 small cars, roughly doubling the amount recycled from 1,700 tons last year.
Jean-Claude Vanderstraeten, HP's environmental director for Asia-Pacific and Japan, noted that such a large amount of recycling was accomplished because of the increasingly positive response from customers to the computing equipment recycling program. Currently, HP's recycling program accepts any brand of used hardware.
Vanderstraeten commented, "More and more customers, especially those in the business sector, are becoming much more environmentally responsible and are increasingly using environmentally friendly ways to dispose of electronic equipment in their daily work. HP will continue to use its industry leadership to drive this favorable trend."
Last year, HP recycled 40.4 percent of the total amount of used computing equipment recycled by the world's three largest computer manufacturers, including HP, IBM and Dell, through its Planet Partner Program. According to the latest environmental sustainability reports2 published by the three companies, HP, IBM and Dell recycled 64,000 tons (equivalent to the weight of 280 large airliners), 58,400 tons and 36,100 tons of hardware, respectively. Lenovo, which recycles on a smaller scale, didn't release figures.
Hewlett-Packard's 3,100-ton recycling effort in Asia-Pacific and Japan has had an incentive effect on other companies as well. Dell Inc. recently announced it had recycled 1,700 tons of computing equipment,3 but IBM has not yet revealed its specific recycling statistics by region.
In China, HP joined forces in February 2005 with Beijing Global Village and the Jane Goodall Fellowship Roots and Shoots program. In China, HP launched the "Recycling Dragon" consumables recycling program in February 2005 in conjunction with Global Village Beijing and Roots and Shoots, a Goodall Institute*** to recycle used HP printer consumables in Shanghai and Beijing. The program is the first collaboration between a Chinese NGO and a business in this area.
In Australia, HP recycled 240 tons of used hardware in 16 months*** and another 44 tons of used equipment in a two-day promotion. The success of these two campaigns has further galvanized HP's passion for the environment, and the company is planning a nationwide recycling campaign of used computer hardware equipment for both business customers and consumers. HP is also currently evaluating options for a hardware recycling program to be piloted in China.
To date, these initiatives have helped HP successfully recycle 340,000 tons (750 million pounds) of computing equipment and printing supplies, and at this rate, achieving its end of 2007 recycling goal of 455,000 tons (1 billion pounds) of used equipment and supplies is within reach.