26 June
2006 - Dell has become the latest company to promise
to remove the worst toxic chemicals from it products,
closely following the move of its rival HP. Both
companies have been pressured by us to make their
products greener and help tackle the growing mountain
of toxic e-waste.
Dell made the announcement with
a pledge to phase out the use of two key groups
of chemicals known to be hazardous to the environment:
all types of brominated flame retardants (BFRs)
and the plastic polyvinyl chlorine (PVC), by 2009.
This latest success follows just months after
our success in pressuring its big rival Hewlett
Packard (HP) to change its policy in March 2006.
Easy as Dell
HP, LGE, Nokia, Samsung, Sony
and Sony Ericsson have already made commitments
to eliminate the use of some hazardous chemicals
in the near future. However, a number of other
companies including Acer, Apple, Fujitsu-Siemens,
IBM, Lenovo, Panasonic, Siemens and Toshiba have
so far failed to commit. Motorola recently broke
its promise to clean up.
But despite these small steps
in the right direction by some companies it is
clear that electronics users expect more. A survey
conducted by Ipsos-MORI for us reveals that most
people across nine countries say they would pay
extra for a more environmentally friendly computer
and that companies should be held responsible
for dealing with their hazardous waste from PCs.
The nine country survey, carried
out earlier this year, found that from half to
three-quarters of computer users say that they
would be willing to pay extra for an environmentally
friendly computer. The amounts ranged from US$59
in Germany, US$118 in UK, US$199 in China and
a whopping US$229 in Mexico.
Toxic as hell
Piles of circuit boards from
hazardous computer waste stretch into the distance
near an e-waste scrap yard. The circuit boards
will be smelted by hand to extract metals. Smelting
releases highly poisonous gases and pollutes the
environment.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of old computers
and mobile phones containing toxic chemicals are
dumped in landfills or burned in smelters. Thousands
more are exported, often illegally, from the Europe,
US, Japan and other industrialised countries,
to Asia. There, workers at scrap yards, some of
whom are children, are exposed to a cocktail of
toxic chemicals and poisons. This is the dark
side of a trend for cheaper, more disposable electronics.
By removing the toxic chemicals,
companies make it cleaner and easier to recycle
their products. Companies that take responsibility
for the whole lifecycle of their products from
cradle to grave ensure that their products last
longer and cause less pollution. Our vision for
the industry is one that produces cleaner, longer
lasting, more sustainable products that don't
contribute to the growing tide of toxic, short
lived products currently being dumped in Asia.
The electronics is a fast moving,
innovative industry that can respond quickly to
users wishes and new trends. But this years hottest
gadget shouldn't end up being next years e-waste
being taken apart by a Chinese child. Some companies
are making positive moves and our survey shows
that users want a cleaner industry and are willing
to pay extra for it.
