Waste not, want not

Ffrench: Dell's move should be applauded, and other OEMs must follow

It is encouraging to see Dell taking e-waste so seriously, and moving to forbid the export of any broken kit to developing countries.

This comes after months of campaigning by various green lobby groups looking to tackle the illegal e-waste trade.

Adding to an already comprehensive e-waste policy, Dell is leading the way among OEMs by taking responsibility for the equipment it has manufactured, and we urge others to follow suit.

Ultimately, Computer Aid believes all OEMs should be held accountable for the disposal of any product they make; no matter where it was sold.

Under the "producer pays" principle of the European WEEE directive, makers of electrical equipment are responsible for funding the end-of-life recycling of equipment in the European Union.

However, no such legislation exists for the millions of electronic products sold in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Computer Aid believes "producer pays" should be enforced worldwide.

Modern economic development is not possible without IT, but we must stop the shameful abuse of e-waste in the developing world.

Computer manufacturers can easily ensure end-of-life products are responsibly reused – by donating them to a reuse charity that will extend their life as long as possible.

Extremely disappointing figures from Gartner at the end of 2008 showed that only 44 per cent of PCs entering the secondary market will be reused. This is despite the fact that it is a most environmentally responsible way to handle PCs, over and above disassembly and recycling.

As much as 75 per cent of the fossil fuels consumed over the entire life cycle of a PC have already been consumed before a PC is even switched on for the first time.

So, given the high environmental cost of production, we should be looking to extend the life of our PCs as much as possible.

Out-of-use PCs and laptops, complete with hard drives, can go on to provide another four years of use by schoolchildren, hospitals and communities across the developing world, enriching education, improving employment prospects and enhancing healthcare.

Anja Ffrench is communications director at Computer Aid International