Getting wasted

"Waste not, want not," my grandmother always used to say, but that philosophy seems to have disappeared from the world along with her generation.

Consequently, when things reach the end of their useful lives - which seem to be getting shorter and shorter by design these days - they are simply thrown away, even if they are computers.

As my collection of old PCs and peripherals bears witness, I have always felt there was something inherently wrong about throwing out old computer gear.

For this reason I was relieved to hear senior Dell recycling manager Jean Cox-Kearns say recently that no computer should go to waste. After all the years of resisting my wife`s entreaties to toss my "computer junk" into the bin, I felt vindicated!

While Cox-Kearns eased my mind by confirming that it really is a waste to discard computers without attempting to recycle them, I was given a fresh cause for concern. She pointed out that consigning computers to landfills around the world is exposing the environment to increasing levels of hazardous substances.

My concern about waste suddenly paled into insignificance. Throwing out old computers is not only wasteful, but an extremely dangerous threat to the environment and human health! Fortunately, authorities in some parts of the world have realised this and are taking steps to change the situation and mitigate the risk.

Fortunately, some computer manufacturers and companies are not leaving the safety of the environment up to the authorities or waiting for protective legislation to come into effect.

Warwick Ashford, portals managing editor, ITWeb

A quick whip around the Internet revealed that the European Union has issued two key directives dealing with waste from electrical and electronic equipment as well as using hazardous substances for computer manufacture, the Environmental Protection Agency in the US has begun a programme to dispose of computer hardware in an environmentally friendly manner, and the Australian government has begun cracking down on the computer industry for failing to develop strategies for the disposal of obsolete computers.

While it`s nice to know some governments are doing something about this problem, I was a little disconcerted that my search engine failed to turn up any evidence of SA being among the enlightened few. Further enquiries also turned up nothing. Does this mean we have no legislation to protect us from the hazards, or do I need to find a new search engine?

In the absence of any protective legislation, it seems it is highly likely that harmful materials such as lead, mercury and beryllium will soon find their way into our air and water, if that is not happening already.

The European Union`s directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances (RoHS) that comes into effect only next year, is specifically aimed at protecting the environment and human health. The EU authorities have acknowledged that many electronic products contain environmentally-sensitive materials.

Fortunately, some computer manufacturers and companies are not leaving the safety of the environment up to the authorities or waiting for protective legislation to come into effect.

Let`s hope an increasing number of companies will start getting real about this issue and follow the example of computer producers like Dell who have already introduced processes to recycle computer components and consumables like ink cartridges in an environmentally friendly way.

Although ahead of schedule, Dell along with all other companies doing business in Europe will be compelled by law from July 2006 to ensure their products do not contain any of the substances identified as hazardous by the RoHS directive.

This is good news, because even if computer-manufacturing countries do not have protective legislation in place themselves, companies will have to comply with legislation in Europe and the US if they want to participate in those markets.

However, this does not mean that countries without the necessary legislation will be protected against becoming dumping grounds. It is not inconceivable that legislation in the US and EU will probably drive computer makers to find markets elsewhere in the world where they can dump environmentally hazardous products.

In the absence of protective legislation, selective buying is probably the simplest and most effective way of keeping hazardous products out of any market.

Regardless of whether or not protective legislation exists, computer buying companies should get real about the threats posed to the global environment and should add strict environmental criteria to their procurement policies. Why wait for the government to take action when waiting too long before addressing this problem will undoubtedly have dire consequences?

South African companies should become proactive on this important issue and check the environmental credentials of suppliers, in much the same way as they would check black empowerment credentials, to ensure the protection of the environment, locally and globally.

On the personal front, I should probably rethink my policy on old computer gear cluttering up various corners at home and not rely on my wife`s good nature indefinitely. Failure to act could result in some serious health damage of my own!