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Sponsor's Message
23 June 1999
Environmental group urges computer recycling
BY
REUTERS
[
23 June 1999
] -
A Silicon Valley environmental group called Monday for the mandatory recycling of old computer equipment to help battle the escalating problem of "mountains of obsolete computer junk."
The San Jose-based Campaign for Responsible Technology is also calling for a phase-out of several toxic chemicals used in the production of computers and semiconductors.
Ted Smith, coordinator of the group, said that while millions of computers have been "junked" over the past few years, the rate of recycling has decreased due to a lack of effective systems or policies.
Currently, electronic waste is typically dumped in landfills, incinerated or shipped to China, where it is disassembled and then burned. Smith said these methods all threaten to release a variety of toxic substances including plastics, lead, mercury and solvents into the environment.
Smith's group wants to hold U.S. computer manufacturers responsible for recycling their own products. A similar initiative is under consideration in the European Union.
The group says the computer industry's "planned obsolescence" policy of frequently introducing upgraded products threatens to make the disposal problem worse.
The San Jose-based Campaign for Responsible Technology is also calling for a phase-out of several toxic chemicals used in the production of computers and semiconductors.
Ted Smith, coordinator of the group, said that while millions of computers have been "junked" over the past few years, the rate of recycling has decreased due to a lack of effective systems or policies.
Currently, electronic waste is typically dumped in landfills, incinerated or shipped to China, where it is disassembled and then burned. Smith said these methods all threaten to release a variety of toxic substances including plastics, lead, mercury and solvents into the environment.
Smith's group wants to hold U.S. computer manufacturers responsible for recycling their own products. A similar initiative is under consideration in the European Union.
The group says the computer industry's "planned obsolescence" policy of frequently introducing upgraded products threatens to make the disposal problem worse.
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