Santa Clara County this week adopted a policy that sets a
positive example for every consumer from Palo Alto to Gilroy. The
policy creates standards for the purchase, management and disposal
of equipment such as computers, fax machines, printers and
telephone equipment, helping to minimize the environmental
impact.
”
I proposed that the county develop an e-waste policy because we
have an obligation to be environmentally responsible for the
community in which we live,
”
said Supervisor Liz Kniss, District 5.
”
This policy is more extensive than those found in most local
governments and we expect that as others begin to seriously examine
the effect of e-waste, many may opt to emulate this program.
”
Santa Clara County this week adopted a policy that sets a positive example for every consumer from Palo Alto to Gilroy. The policy creates standards for the purchase, management and disposal of equipment such as computers, fax machines, printers and telephone equipment, helping to minimize the environmental impact.
“I proposed that the county develop an e-waste policy because we have an obligation to be environmentally responsible for the community in which we live,” said Supervisor Liz Kniss, District 5. “This policy is more extensive than those found in most local governments and we expect that as others begin to seriously examine the effect of e-waste, many may opt to emulate this program.”
The policy criteria will be written into the county’s request for proposals – every time a computer or other piece of electronic equipment is purchased by the county, the contract bidders must address “take back” of electronic equipment for reuse, recycling and/or disposal. The county will encourage a “reuse” of equipment that is in good repair, a strategy that provides those products to groups such as schools or nonprofits.
It’s the kind of bold stand municipalities must take with manufacturers who adopt an attitude of “once you buy it, it’s your problem to dispose of it.”
Between the years 1997 and 2007, experts estimate that we will have more than 500 million obsolete computers in the United States. Consumers have, on average, a surprising two to three obsolete computers in their garages, closets or storage spaces, according to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.
E-waste contains a witches’ brew of toxic substances, such as lead and cadmium in circuit boards; lead oxide and cadmium in monitor cathode ray tubes (CRTs); mercury in switches and flat screen monitors; cadmium in computer batteries; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in older capacitors and transformers; and brominated flame retardants on printed circuit boards, plastic casings, cables and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cable insulation that release highly toxic dioxins and furans when burned to retrieve copper from the wires.
Landfills leach toxins into groundwater and incinerators emit toxic air pollutants, including cancer-causing dioxins. The health effects of these poisons are enough to keep cancer centers in business for the next century.
So how can we, the consumers, help? You start at the point of sale. Buying a jiffy new home entertainment center? Start by taking it out of its packaging and leave it on the retailer’s counter. Enough headaches and the retailer may get the word back to the manufacturer to change its packaging policies. As for the poison guts of the entertainment center, before you put your John Hancock on the credit card slip, ask the retailer what its policy is in five years when the entertainment center becomes outdated or simply wears out.
Doesn’t have a “take back” policy? Find another retailer.
Santa Clara County made a bold first step. We consumers need to finish the job.
