Environmental experts urge computer recycling
■Throwing computers away
in landfills can leach lead,
mercury and polyvinyl chlorine
into the ground and food chain
By Diane Huber
for the Emerald
As technology speeds ahead to
create more efficient computers,
older, useless versions are piling
up in landfills. According to envi
ronmentalists, dumping comput
ers in the trash is hazardous for the
environment.
While recycling old PCs is a
relatively new concept in Eu
gene, manufacturers of electrical
and electronic equipment in the
European Union are mandated to
take back and recycle obsolete
computers, which leaves some
environmentalists wondering
why the United States is so
technologically ahead but so
environmentally behind.
A recent study by the National
Safety Council’s Environmental
Health Center estimated that of the
20.6 million personal computers
that became outdated in 1998,
only 11 percent — or 2.3 million
— were recycled.
NSC estimates that 315 million
additional computers will be use
less by 2004.
» “The bridge we’re trying to cross
right now is how to recycle them,”
Oregon Department of Environ
mental Quality waste reduction
analyst Brian Fuller said.
Computers that wind up in
landfills contain toxic chemicals
such as lead, mercury and
polyvinyl chlorine. Though land
fills are designed to contain what’s
put into them, Fuller said landfills
could potentially leak, leaching
chemicals into the ground where
they will remain forever, moving
their way through food chains.
Recycling
* an old computer
BRING Recycling Television and
- Computer Recycling Roundup:
10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 11 at the
Glenwood Central Receiving Station
Oregon Public Networking:
(503)448-9637
Students Repairing Used
Technology (StflUT):
(888)990-7500
But Fuller and other environ
mentalists say there’s no demand
or pressure in the United States for
companies to recycle computers.
“U.S. companies claim it’s too
expensive and too hard to coordi
nate,” Environmental Law Al
liance Worldwide information and
technology manager Glenn Gillis
said. Yet, he pointed to recovery
policies in Europe that require
companies to recycle computers
free of charge.
In the United States, third par
ties usually handle the recycling,
Gillis said. For example, Hillsboro
based Students Recycling Used
Technology has been repairing and
recycling old computers and
building new ones for distribution
in schools since 1996. Oregon Pub
lic Networking, St. Vincent DePaul
Society and BRING Recycling also
collect computers in Eugene.
BRING general manager Julie
Daniel said computer recycling is
fairly new to Oregon. BRING has
organized three Lane County
pickups over the last two years —
the first countywide pickups in
the state.
..—
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hold another pickup at the Glen
wood Central Receiving Station
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. What’s
unique about this pickup is that
BRING will also collect console
televisions — “those great big
ones your grandparents have,”
Daniel said. Televisions contain
some of the same toxins as com
puters, she said.
“The purpose is to keep this
material out of the landfill,”
Daniel said.
Once the company collects the
computers, it distributes some to
St. Vincent DePaul, where they are
resold. Completely unusable com
puters are “demanufactured” and
some of the parts are resold, while
plastics and cables are recycled.
Computer companies are be
ginning to recognize the need to
offer recycling as well. IBM has
recently implemented Product
End-of-Life Management — a
program that distributes or recy
cles unwanted computers for a
fee of $29.99.
This is still a long way from Eu
rope’s strict policies, Gillis said.
“It’s not practical for American
consumers to pay when they could
just throw it in the trash,” he said.
Gillis said he wonders why U.S.
consumers don’t demand that
companies be more accountable.
“It’s an interesting commentary
on our priorities,” he said. “Con
sumers (in Europe) are more
aware of the issue. They don’t
have the same amount of space
for landfills, and in general
there’s not quite the same dispos
able consumer mindset. They’re
more open to regulation.
“But regulation in this country is
kind of a dirty word.”
E-LAW executive director Bern
Johnson added that many coun
tries in Europe look at environ
mental protection differently than
the United States out of necessity
— their landscapes have already
been so damaged that they have
little choice but to “live in harmo
ny with the environment.
“European countries have real
ized that ‘this is where we live.
There are limits,”’ he said. “The
U.S. will get to that approach.
Right now, we’re way behind.”
Diane Huber is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
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