Handling E-Waste: The challenges of computer disposal

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November 18, 2002 (Computerworld) -- In April, consulting firm Gartner Inc. reported that the 1 billionth PC had been sold - and the 2 billion mark may be reached as soon as 2008. But disposal of those PCs, when they reach the end of their useful lives, is becoming a hot political issue.

PCs and monitors contain lead, mercury, cadmium and other metals deemed hazardous under federal rules that regulate their disposal. In an effort to ensure that the electronics gear doesn't end up in landfills, legislators have introduced IT recycling bills in 24 states.

Most of these bills set up committees to study the issue, according to the Electronic Industries Alliance, an Arlington, Va.-based trade group that represents high-tech equipment makers. The California state legislature passed a bill levying a $10 fee on the sale of PCs and monitors to pay for recycling centers, but the governor recently vetoed the bill following opposition by high-tech vendors. And U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) has introduced a similar $10 fee bill to get the debate started at the federal level .

This 3.3-lb. gold bar was recycled from more than 20,000 computers in Taiwan, where 85% of computer waste is recycled by the government for free.

Whether the fee-funded recycling centers would help large businesses that already bear the cost of disposal is uncertain. Today, companies pay $25 to $40 per PC for disposal.

"If this fee somehow relieved me of the economic burden of disposal, then it would be very welcome," says Jim Tudor, who manages PC procurement at Alltel Corp. in Little Rock, Ark. Alltel, a $7.5 billion telecommunications and wireless service provider, has about 26,000 PCs. On the other hand, he says, the fee could easily become an added expense that's not offset by lower disposal costs.

Scott Matthews, an economist at the Green Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, says the federal bill is at least five years too late. "It's sort of the Social Security of computer recycling," he says. "We're charging $10 per unit to set up a recycling network for computers sold five to 10 years ago," he says. "This is something that would barely scratch the surface of being able to pay for itself."

Even if no new legislation is passed, current laws and practices raise other issues for corporate IT managers trying to do the right thing.

For example, no company wants its data recovered from a junked PC. Recent federal laws - including the financial privacy sections of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the health privacy rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - require firms to ensure cradle-to-grave confidentiality of customer data.

But IT managers will get different advice from vendors and experts about the best approach to complying with environmental and privacy laws.

There are many recycling firms that will scrub the hard drive, resell the computer and certify their work. But Bob Knowles, founder and CEO of Technology Recycling LLC in Denver, says the only way to ensure total data security is to destroy the hard drive and the components. His company, which recycles in some 200 cities, won't offer PCs for resale or donation, but it does recycle the raw materials. "It's impossible to clean a hard drive, memory or CPU" to eliminate all traces of information, he says.

Another issue is whether companies have a lingering liability under environmental laws if they resell or donate their computers. For instance, if a charity improperly disposes of a donated PC, the original owner could be held liable, says Cindy Grogan, vice president of desktop and asset management consulting at T-Systems Inc. in Lisle, Ill.

But not all agree that there's an ongoing liability. Jim Drohan, president of CDI Computer Dealers Inc., a Toronto-based firm with extensive U.S. operations, says, "If I sell something to you in good faith, my legal liability ends there."

Some customers want to resell their used computers and recover as much of their migration costs as possible, but others don't want to worry about whether their computer was improperly disposed of in the U.S. or some other country. Some customers "don't think the little bit of money you can get for this equipment is worth the potential liability down the road," says Renee St. Denis, end-of-life process manager at Hewlett-Packard Co., which recycles and resells computers.

Experts say most large businesses are disposing of PCs properly. The larger concern may be the millions of PCs owned by consumers and small businesses.

One thing is certain: The tech waste pile is getting bigger.

"This is a large and growing problem," Matthews says.

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Handling E-Waste

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