Tackling the E-Waste Problem

While interest in green IT is growing across the Asia-Pacific region, awareness is generally low and action is rare, according to Springboard Research's findings.

However, "leading companies, including Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Dell, Ericsson, Philips and Cisco Systems have joined a United Nations initiative that aims to standardize world policy and legislative approaches to electronic recycling processes," noted Chris Perrine, Springboard's chief operations officer and executive vice president of sales and marketing E-Mail Marketing Software - Free Trial.

"Dell has taken the lead in the area of Green IT as it is the only computer maker to offer consumers free recycling, whether or not they are buying a new Dell product," Perrine told TechNewsWorld.

Dell: Latest News about Dell plans on extending its recycling services to business customers in mainland China and Hong Kong. The company says it is on target to recover nearly 275 million pounds worth of used computers from customers by 2009.

HP: Latest News about Hewlett-Packard provides a recycling service for all IT products for a fee ranging from US$13 to $34, according to Perrine.

"In addition, HP customers who recycle old computers independently can get credit toward future HP purchases, which offset most of the recycling costs. HP aims to recycle as much as 1 billion pounds of hardware and supplies in 2007," he said.

Apple: Latest News about Apple has frequently been criticized for lagging behind in its environmental programs, Perrine noted. The company has a relatively low 36 percent score the Computer TakeBack Campaign -- an international effort by a coalition of 16 top environmental groups to address the growing problem of computer e-waste -- gave Apple for its disposal of computer equipment.

"However, Apple recently claimed that by 2010 it might be recycling significantly more than either Dell or HP, as a percentage of past sales weight

Src: http://www.ecommercetimes.com