Recycling Firms Nationwide USA

Only a handful of full-service electronics recycling firms are available that have nationwide service outlets. The industry remains fragmented, and many firms only offer services locally. Here are a few that should be able to address your total needs regardless of your enterprise’s location.

Horizon Datacom Solutions: www.horizondatacom.com
Horizon Datacom Solutions offers full electronics asset recovering in conjunction with specialized partners. Established in 1995, the firm also resells preowned data equipment. Its customers include users, resellers, brokers, and service and repair companies.

Intechra: www.intechra.com
Intechra focuses on eliminating the risks surrounding data security, compliance, and environmental impact while seeking to maximize value recovery on IT asset investment. Intechra claims to have pioneered many of the industry’s best-practice processes for IT assets recovery and says it has worked with industry and government to develop national and local guidelines for information security and electronics waste disposition.

MPC (Materials Processing Corp.): www.mpc-e.com
MPC has offered electronics recycling services for more than two decades and works with “clients of all sizes.” The firm says it continually assesses and adjusts its receipt-to-recycle processes.

Redemtech: www.redemtech.com
Redemtech offers what it calls a continuous on-demand process called TCM (Technology Change Management). Like the lean supply model, TCM offers what the firm calls “a continuous, planned process of tech reuse, remarketing, and environmentally safe computer recycling--to optimize IT asset value throughout the life cycle.”
Read more!

What To Look For In An Electronics Recycling Firm

• Demonstrated disposal of all materials through recycling channels
• Proof that all data is destroyed, which is not only on PC and server hard disks but also on routers, firewalls, and other data equipment
• ISO compliance
• Detailed labeling of equipment with written proof of disposal procedures
• A “no-landfill” policy
• A willingness to show you onsite how equipment is disposed of
Read more!

Dell Sponsoring Green Computing Competition

Dell is sponsoring a contest to encourage the community to "design the world's most environmentally responsible computing technology".

The prize? $10,000 per finalist, and $15,000 for the winner. However, all entries will be made public, so entrants should consider that they're essentially open-sourcing their idea. On the other hand, Dell said that it would not claim any rights over the submitted designs, meaning they will genuinely be used to help the community.

If the design concept sounds a little vague, it is. It's not entirely clear what Dell's looking for. On the other hand, this is a perfect opportunity to do some out-of-the-box thinking. If you're interested, however, some of the entry rules provide some clues.

Entries will be judged by a professional jury. Here's what they're looking for:

DESIGN SOLUTION: Aesthetics as well as a sensitivity to form follows function. The design must not only be visually appealing but be purposeful in its form factor and highly usable by the intended users.

INNOVATIVENESS: What is the big idea relating to green computing technology? How profound is the idea and how innovative is the solution from a green computing technology product design perspective?

GREEN COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY CONSIDERATIONS: How well did the design solution address each of the various Green Computing Technology Considerations listed on the Website?

FEASIBILITY & CONCEPT VALIDATION: How realistic is it? Can it be manufactured in the near term or long term under green manufacturing constraints? Did the entrant do a sufficient amount of investigation regarding what is possible from a functional and manufacturing perspective? Are the research sources cited, varied, and valid? Did the entrant provide proper citations and credit for research and intellectual property referenced?

UTILIZATION OF GREEN ASSESSMENT TOOLS: Did the entrant make good use of assessment tools such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and other green validation and product development process tools that provide guidelines and standards for current thinking and current regulation for environmental product designs and manufacturing?

DOCUMENTATION OF PROCESS & METHODOLOGY: How well has the entrant captured the process of creating the final design solution?

PRESENTATION: Has the entrant effectively presented the concept? Are entry materials neat and well-organized? Has the entrant made effective use of visualization tools? How well did the entrant communicate the ideas and solution using text and imagery? How well did the entrant make use of media to express ideas?

Designs can be submitted as .doc; .pdf; .jpg; .wmv; and .mov. files, so the contest appears to allow some flexibility in ideas as well as formats. The contest entry period ends April 2, 2008.

(Incidentally, the image comes from Homegrown Hydroponics, which describes this PC greenhouse in amazing detail, including the use of PC fans to circulate air. It even criticizes the competition (there's competition?!). Your Halloween special price? $650.)

http://www.gearlog.com/2007/10/dell_sponsoring_green_computin.php
Read more!

HP rp5700 Desktop PC : Energy Saving Computer

The HP rp5700 business PC ($1,299 direct) will help your company with both types of green—saving money and preserving the environment. While green PCs are a trendy topic in the consumer PC space, businesses have thought "green" (in terms of cost savings) for as long as the PC has existed. The rp5700 is the kind of system that will stay with your organization for a relatively long time, and as a bonus, it has less of an impact on the environment than the PCs of the past. It is EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) Gold–certified and meets or exceeds RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances) standards. The rp5700 is a general business PC, so it will serve well in companies ranging from small mom-and-pop shops up to the largest conglomerates.

The rp5700 as configured here is certified as an Energy Star 4.0 product, which means it meets the newest, most stringent code for saving energy. Its power supply and other components are efficient and have built-in power-saving features. I connected it up to our Kill-A-Watt measuring device, and under typical system operation the rp5700 actively consumed only 52W to 75W of power. This is roughly as much as an energy-saver incandescent 60Wto100W lightbulb. Another extreme example is the high-end gaming desktop, which uses roughly 500W of power. The system will drop down to a low power state when it is idle (after it goes into S3 sleep mode after a set period of time) where it consumes only a few watts of power to keep the system's memory active. Combined over several (or hundreds, or thousands of) PCs in your company, this translates into a significant cost savings in the energy that's not consumed both to keep your PCs running and to cool your offices from all those heat-producing PCs operating at full power. It's a win-win situation for both your company and the environment.

EPEAT and RoHS are certification programs used in the U.S. and Europe, respectively. EPEAT Gold certification means that the system meets criteria above, and way beyond the government's mandate for so-called green PCs. Likewise, RoHS certifies products as having less impact on the environment. Both call for reduction or elimination of harmful chemicals (mercury, hexavalent chromium, cadmium, etc.) used in the manufacture of components in the PC. Other criteria include recyclability of internal components, energy use, and end of life options (returning the PC to the manufacturer for recycling). As I write this, only four PCs are EPEAT Gold–certified (the others are two Dells and the Zonbu PC), but of course more are coming from other manufacturers.

The rp5700 is designated as HP's "long-life" business PC, which means that HP will be supporting it as a model for at least the next five years. Other computer makers' business PCs are only certified as "image supported" for one to two years. "Image supported" means that the same operating systems and drivers will be available as long as the PC is available for sale. This cuts down on IT time used in testing and qualifying updated rp5700 PCs for your business because the hard drive image need not be retested when new PCs are acquired. It also means that HP will provide pretty much identically configured systems for the next five years, with some updates for faster processors. Over those five years, you can pass the PCs down through your organization, in effect reusing or recycling them internally. What's notable about the five-year promise is that HP will still sell you an identically configured rp5700 PC in 2012 (and therefore one that your IT staffer already knows and that will work with the same operating system disk image your current PCs use).

The "recycling" concept is also backed up by HP's claim that it uses at least 10 percent post-consumer waste plastics in the system's chassis. That's 10 percent that won't go into a landfill or need to be created from (foreign) petroleum. At least 90 percent of the PC's structural components are certified recyclable, as is the system's packaging. That way, you're reducing the need to manufacture more materials both coming in and going out at the end of the rp5700's useful life as a PC.

So aside from all that, how good is the rp5700 as a PC? It's in a standard business small-form-factor case, which means that it will handle most of the tasks you throw at it in a business setting. It has space for two full-size hard drives and a pair of full-size PCI slots. The PCIe x1 and PCIe x16 slots are half-height due to the compact-form-factor chassis. This may be a problem if your business uses full-size specialized cards (like ones supporting laser bar-code readers). The system I reviewed has an optional four-port "USB plus power" card installed, ostensibly for point-of-sale terminal (cash register) use. These four extra USB ports have specialized co-ports that provide extra electrical power to peripherals that support the plugs. (You see USB plus power sometimes in notebooks, where the extra power is to run an external drive or DVD burner.) But there are six regular USB 2.0 ports, a parallel port, and an old-school serial port on every system. There is a pair of 160GB SATA drives in a RAID 1 (mirroring) array, which means that if one of the drives fails, you will still be able to use the computer and get to your data. RAID 1 is a good insurance policy in a system that will see constant use. The chassis is easy to get into, with clearly marked and labeled service points (like hard drive mounts, card slots, and power supply). The case is totally tool-less, so you won't even need a screwdriver to service the system. All in all, it's a well-thought-out business PC.

The Dells with EPEAT Gold certification are Optiplex models, so the rp5700 is ahead of the Dell Vostro 200 and Lenovo ThinkCentre M55e that I've reviewed recently, at least on the environmental front. All three are available with Intel's Core 2 Duo processors, though the rp5700 is a little more corporate than even the ThinkCentre, with its emphasis on long life. The rp5700 is a bit pricier, but it does come with RAID 1 standard, and the three R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Performance-wise, the rp5700 is good, with numbers befitting its midrange Intel E6400 processor. Scores of 104 overall on SYSmark 2007 Preview are good for the business desktop category. The warranty is a very good three years, for parts, labor, and tech support.

The HP rp5700 shows that the big-system manufacturers are serious about the environment, particularly since "going green" can help both the buyer's and the seller's bottom lines. The system's certified configurations will be appealing to large corporate and government buyers who need to keep stockholders, constituents, and the general public's opinion on the good side. The cost savings over the long run are also appealing to the small operator, since saving a few bucks here and there on energy bills can add up to a lot. If you need goodwill now with the community, or you need to meet green PC requirements, or if you need a PC that will grow with your company over the next five-plus years, take a long, hard look at HP's rp5700.

Src: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2186620,00.asp
Read more!

IYogi Computer Support Goes Green

New green PC services help individuals and small businesses save energy and money.

iYogi, a next-generation computer support services company, today announced the launch of their Green PC initiative. iYogi's new service is the first in the independent computer support industry to offer customers a way to save money, conserve energy and protect the environment by optimizing their PC's efficiency.

According to Energy Star, a joint program between the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, users can save up-to $75 Per Desktop PC annually through power management.

iYogi's Green PC initiative is a customized service that increases the energy-efficiency of users' computers starting with three primary undertakings:
1. Computer assessment, analyzing settings and PC energy use.
2. Customized efficiency plan, geared specifically to the individual's usage patterns.
3. Implementing setting changes to maximize the computer's energy use.

This service is free for iYogi's annual subscribers, and can be purchased for $9.99 as a stand-alone service for new customers. iYogi's Green PC website can help users identify ways to responsibly recycle or dispose of their hardware as well as provide insight into how to select new computer equipment that is environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

"Most people do not realize the enormous drain that PCs and laptops impose on electrical resources," said Vishal Dhar, president of iYogi. "Our Green PC service will allow small businesses and individuals to use technology responsibly, saving money in the process. By making small changes in the way you work, something as simply as not using screensavers, you can reduce your electric bill and reduce your carbon footprint."

For more information on iYogi's Green PC initiative visit http://green-pc.iyogi.net

About Iyogi:
Headquartered in Gurgaon, India with offices in New York, NY, iYogi provides personalized computer repair for small businessand home office users. iYogi offers 24/7 phone and online assistance for technologies we use every day and supports products from a wide range of vendors. Utilizing proprietary technology, iMantra, and superior team talent, iYogi delivers higher resolution benchmarks and service levels than competing support services. For more information and a detailed list of supported technologies, visit: www.iyogi.net
Read more!

Lenovo to launch "Blue Sky" green PC

Lenovo is about to launch its ‘green’ ultra-small form factor desktop, the ThinkCentre A61e, in New Zealand.

The A61e, also known as the "Blue Sky", is the first desktop to be powered by AMD’s 45-watt Athlon 64 X2 dual core or Sempron single core processors and consumes about half the electricity compared with earlier models such as the A60.

Lenovo says this means A61e users will save an average of US$20 (NZ$27) a year in electricity costs compared with users of older PCs, and around 180kg in carbon dioxide emissions - the equivalent of two return flights from Boston to New York (four flights of 1 hour 15 minutes duration).

Michael Pierce, Lenovo director of environmental affairs told PC World that apart from the low-consumption processors, energy savings had also been achieved by using a more efficient, notebook-type power supply.

By using notebook (SODIMM) memory and dispensing with expansion slots, the A61e takes up 25% less desk space than the A60 and weighs in at about 3.6kg. Optional extras include a bracket which allows the system unit to be mounted on the back of a flat panel display and even a solar panel which Lenovo claims can be used to power the machine.
Pierce was unable to confirm New Zealand pricing and availability, saying this would be announced in a day or two. However the US retail price of US$399 (system unit only) suggests a New Zealand starting price of around $600.

Src: http://blogs.pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/products/2007/09/lenovo_to_launch_blue_sky_gree.html
Read more!

IBM's Green Team in the Data Center

IBM will reallocate $1 billion a year in research and development spending and is assembling an 850-strong, worldwide team of energy efficiency experts as part of its Project Big Green, which has the goal of qualifying its facilities as "green data centers" according to specified best practices and policies.

IBM is taking Project Big Green outside the company as well. Green data centers are efficient and environmentally responsible in five strategic business Over 800,000 High Quality Domains Available For Your Business. Click Here. aspects: Diagnostic energy usage capabilities; building energy efficient data centers; measuring and managing energy allocation and usage; making use of more energy efficient virtualization technology; and heating and cooling systems.

Energy efficiency initiative clients are realizing up to 40 percent reductions in power and cooling requirements, increases of as much as 20 percent in server/storage utilization and some have achieved as high as 80 percent reductions in floor space, according to Rich Lechner, vice president of IT optimization for IBM.

Src: http://www.technewsworld.com
Read more!