The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group E-Waste, Recycling and Responsibility Michael Mullerworth

New technology is marvellous, and we all wish for better appliances and gadgets, but where do such products go when no longer needed? Old and unwanted computers are one of the fastest-growing and most toxic forms of waste. Electronic waste or E-Waste includes computers, monitors, and peripherals, as well as TVs, mobile phones, MP3 players and other electronic devices. Currently around three million computers are sold each year in Australia. In the same period about one million others become redundant. Almost three-quarters of the rejects (732,000) end up being dumped in the ground. The ACT is the only Australian State that bans computer waste from landfill.

Burial Is Not a Solution

E-Waste graveyards are toxic time-bombs containing heavy metals and other dangerous substances. Computer systems contribute 70% of the lead, cadmium and mercury found in rubbish tips. Each CRT monitor contains over 2 kg of lead. Many plastic computer parts contain brominated flame retardants which can vapourise and be inhaled (this can also happen in computer assembly and recycling plants). Incineration of the waste will spread these as fumes as well as producing toxic ash. Rain and recovery treatments such as leaching with acids wash toxic waste into watercourses or groundwater.

Consumer Expectations

The more material goods we acquire, the more we have to throw away. There is an expectation that someone else will remove it as well as take over our responsibilities. Computers and monitors are mostly discarded as hard rubbish for municipal kerbside collection. In some cases items may be donated to a specific worthy cause, but often it is an excuse to get rid of it, leaving someone else with the responsibility of sorting, cleaning, refurbishing, and finally disposing of the items.

Is Recycling the Answer?

Recycling and Refurbishment programs alone cannot deal with the problem of obsolete computers. The scale of the waste problem is too large. In Victoria it is estimated that over 180,000 computers are dumped in landfill annually. Recycling and refurbishment costs are high and are not yet covered by taxes or levies, and in many instances are subsidised by volunteer labour and training programs. Effective recycling programs need to be financed and supported by contributions from government, industry, and users.

Recycling in the strict sense is salvage, recovering as much of the raw material as possible for re-use. New equipment is now so cheap and plentiful that replacements may be made every 2-3 years, so the volume of waste increases. What is not recycled goes to landfill or is exported as hazardous waste for processing elsewhere, because the local cost of such processing exceeds the value of any recovered materials. It is common practice to export E-Waste to other countries for recycling using cheap labour. This simply transfers the problem there, often making it worse as safe practices may not be followed.

Refurbishment or Remanufacturing is renewing old equipment so that it is re-usable. However, as people generally prefer a new or recent model, they do not really want the outdated computer being sold or given to them. This applies equally to overseas aid agencies and to disadvantaged persons in our own community. Much "donated" computerware is too obsolete or nonfunctioning, suitable only for salvage. In addition, software installed on the refurbished computer must be "legal" or "open source".

Donate and Feel Good!

Refurbishment extends the useful life of the computer, and believing the computer has gone to a worthy cause makes one feel good. For many people this represents the limit of their concern. There is value in providing refurbished computers (at little or no cost) to local not-for-profit organisations and deserving individuals. But whether such gifts to foreign countries are always useful is debatable. Consider the lack of technical support available there, and anticipated difficulties with stable electricity supply and maintenance. It is difficult or impossible to find out if any of these overseas programs has been evaluated, so the benefit to the end-user is very unclear. What is certain is that we have shifted part of the waste problem elsewhere, and done very little to address the problem at home.

Responsibility

So who is responsible for E-Waste disposal? Government, Industry or Users? It would appear that a combined approach is required, a sharing of responsibility. Certainly government regulation and industry incentives are needed, but so too is user involvement through education and publicity.

Government

At present the burden of dealing with E-Waste falls mostly on local government councils, who cart it to landfill. At the urging of environment groups and in response to public opinion, governments have exerted pressure on manufacturers and distributors to assume responsibility by enacting take-back legislation, especially in Europe and Japan (also in China), or by encouraging voluntary initiatives. In five years, 30 countries will have take-back laws for electronics; Australia has no such law.

But establishing manufacturers' responsibility is difficult except with brand-name products and large companies, as components are sourced very widely, and some manufacturers go out of business and cannot be made accountable. Some countries are setting stricter standards for hazardous material content in the finished article. From July 2006, the European Union will ban imports of products containing prohibited materials. The new standards include lead-free computers.

Industry

Voluntary action with some incentives is currently preferred in Australia, modelled on the concept of Extended Product Responsibility (EPR ). A cradle to grave scheme or Life Cycle Plan puts the whole responsibility on the makers, and understandably is unpopular with them. It means the establishment of a mechanism to take back or arrange for the re-use or disposal of the product when it is discarded or replaced (in practice, by supporting recycling and refurbishment schemes either directly as individual companies, or collectively as a group of manufacturers).

Thus Product Stewardship Associations (PSAs) have been formed in many industries, including the mobile phone industry. Some major computer manufacturers have their own take-back schemes and support recycling, but the details of final disposal are unclear. New technology is part of the answer: better design and safer, more easily recyclable materials are to be used in new products, and companies will have to comply with the new standards being set by governments.

Users

Should not users accept a share of the responsibility, in much the same way as they do, or should do, with household rubbish? This could range from delaying unnecessary purchases of new systems to agreeing to pay a premium (like a surcharge or tax) on new equipment sales which would be used to help finance recycling schemes. At the very least, responsible dumping of the waste is necessary, and for this to happen local collection systems are needed to encourage take-up by the public.

One such initiative is ByteBack, a pilot scheme to collect and recycle computer waste. It was started in the City of Boroondara on 27 June 2005 specifically to divert such waste from landfill. The Waste Manager at Boroondara City Council noticed that the annual hard rubbish collection contained a lot of computer waste, and as the City of Boroondara has a high level of computer ownership (confirmed in Australian Bureau of Statistics figures), it seemed a good opportunity to start something. EcoRecycle Victoria, Sims E-Recycling, Hewlett-Packard and K&S Environmental joined in to start the first joint government-private computer recycling project in Victoria.

It is free to the user, being supported by financial and service contributions from all the venture partners. It does require the user to do the right thing. The items must be deposited in the collection bins at the Waste Transfer Station, putting the onus on users to make the effort. Currently it is clearing 5 tonnes of computer waste a week of which over 90% is recycled.

Note: The following items are not accepted: Joysticks, play stations, electronic games, software, digital cameras, electronic equipment, TVs,
videos, hi-fi equipment, mobile phones, printer cartridges and copiers. BUT printer ink and toner cartridges can be recycled via Cartridges 4 Planet Ark, co-sponsored by many large business organisations. Drop them at participating Australia Post and Officeworks outlets.
See http://www.recyclingnearyou.com.au/cartridges.html for details.

What Else Can Be Done?

Of course there are socially concerned users, and there are probably many in Melb PC. As the second-largest computer user group in the world (over 10,000 members), we can make OM voice heard and exert influence. We can do so by example, and by influencing the views and actions of the public and politicians. We can demand that concerted action be taken soon to reduce E-Waste.
Here are some suggestions:

• Education, starting with our own members (this article is a beginning, I hope)
  
• Drive community participation: publicise responsible computer ownership eg. at Swap Meets and User Group Monthly meetings
  
• Encourage sustainable consumption – don't upgrade unless you need it (And don't buy a powerful computer for which you have no use)
  
• Express an opinion — add our voice to demands for action
  
• Conduct a survey of members and convey the result to Government
  
• Start an e-mail petition seeking concerted action by all parties
  
• Write letters, contact your local State and Federal Members of Parliament
  
• Request information on what is being done about E-waste
  
• Encourage new initiatives like Byteback or start co-operative partnerships (our ComputerAid SIG is an example of one with Business To Community Recyclers (B2C) and World Vision)
  
• Ask your local council to investigate a scheme similar to Byteback
  

Reprinted from the December 2005 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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