Ecologically Sustainable Sydney

Computer Recycling

New appliances have not only become more powerful they have become more energy efficient. Reusing or continued use of old computers uses up more energy which produces more CO². So, donation and reuse and ongoing use of old computers can be environmentally unfriendly recycling.

However, disposing of old equipment is covered by the The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is the most comprehensive global environmental agreement on hazardous and other wastes., Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS)

How are computers recycled?

• MRI: Steel casings are recycled locally as scrap metal...Circuit boards are removed and sent to downstream partners for precious metals recovery...Cables are granulated and copper is recovered...Plastics, such as the bezels and PVC insulation, are recovered and remanufactured...and Art
• Computerbank: send ..faulty and excess CRT monitors to a Australian Government endorsed processing facility. .. scrap metal (mainly empty cases) to metal recycler .. old and faulty computer boards, power supplies, floppy drives, CD/DVD drives, CPU's, hard drives, cables and chips for metal extraction... polystyrene to a compaction centre where it is eventually turned into picture frames..plastics get turned into long life building products such as fence posts and pellets via Australian Composite Technology (ACT) Vic.....yet to find a solution for some of the waste that is generated (some plastic and lead glass) these end up as landfill..
• Apple Computers: Products are manually disassembled in Australia. Plastics, glass, cables and metals are separated so they can be further processed and refined and ultimately reused in manufacturing processes...Products are not refurbished, on-sold or donated.
• ASUS (Taiwan-North America-Europe)
• ACER
• Lenova Eco Takeback (USA)
• Dell
• HP
• Epson:Paper, Packaging, PaperProjector Lamp Recycling
• Lexmark Hardware
• Cisco
• Mobile Phone Recycling
• Canon, HP, Lexmark, Konica Minolta, Epson, Brother, Panasonic Ink Cartridges 4 Planet Ark
• Close the Loop Recycling of Toner and Ink cartridges
• GreenPeace: Electronic Waste
• EU: Eco-Label
• Google: Energy and the Internet
• IEEE: Epeat Standard
• ISO 14000

Editor: Marghanita da Cruz
Email: marghanita@ramin.com.au

www.ramin.com.au/eco-sydney/computer-recycling.shtml © Ramin Communications 2009. Last modified 9 October 2009.