E-waste epidemic presents opportunity, as well as risk
Back in January, we blogged about the annual Greenpeace survey into the green credentials of the consumer electronics industry and noted that the big players in this area are largely silent (or at least very quiet) regarding discussion of the environmental impacts of their activities. According to The Guardian, a UN study published on Monday reports that e-waste (such as mobile phones and computers) could rise by up to 500% over the next decade, particularly in countries that are experiencing high levels of economic growth and therefore where demand for such technology is increasing, such as China and India. This made me wonder what manufacturers and retailers in this arena are doing specifically to encourage their customers to recycle unwanted or redundant technology.
Many territories have legislation encouraging recycling of e-waste, but many others find themselves the recipients of illegal imports of e-waste, which poses a serious threat to the environment and to people’s health due to the toxic material which such waste often contains. This rather begs the question: what is the point of taking steps regarding material use, packaging, and transportation, if companies are not paying heed to what happens at the end of a product’s life cycle?
A visit to the Dell website revealed that they operate both a recycling and donation scheme for Dell products, and the same for non-Dell products when a new Dell machine is being purchased. However, in order to find out about this, I had to click on a very small link at the foot of the page entitled “All About Dell” (which doesn’t really give a clue that I might find information about recycling there), and then navigate through a further six pages to get the information I needed. Apple fared slightly better, as it only took three clicks for me to discover that I can get free recycling on all Macs, iPods and iPhones, but again, I had to click on a very small “Environment” link at the foot of the main home page.
It strikes me that companies are missing a vital opportunity here to demonstrate to their largest stakeholder group – their customers – that they not only acknowledge their impact in this area but are also taking proactive steps to address it. To this end, a reasonably visible link on the home page which suggests that recycling of unwanted products is possible, and even free, might be a good start.
