”Unfortunately, most (blanks) are loaded with toxins, have short life spans and are not designed for recycling,” can you guess what fills that blank? If you’ve guessed electronic gismos, then you guessed the main theme of this year’s Consumer Electronic Show in Los Vegas. The technology industry’s largest: Sony and Dell among others are changing to become more eco conscious. They currently are planning to “offset” the toxic landfill waste by planting more trees, and better recycling programs. The offsets amount to the tune of about $100 million. New start-ups are planning new eco friendly solar devices, while others boast higher power efficiency.
The drive in the industry to be greener arises from the tons of toxic materials in their products. This combined with the rabid obsolescence rate and you have a heavy polluter which rivals even the power industry.
There was an interesting article in the 2008 edition of PC Magazine where they outlined the factors leading to cell phone’s bad reputation. Namely they grow out of style quickly, they are cheap, and the majority of them are simply disposed of instead of recycled.
Unfortunately, one of the best ways for the technology industry to improve would be to make products which have longer useful lifespans. This would undoubtedly cut into their profits, and would theoretically be impossible in an industry with so many emerging advances. Imagine having to upgrading a first generation iPod to work as an iPhone. I’m not against the idea, but the idea of anything considered technology by definition is to do something in a more efficient manner. Holding onto a less efficient method and calling it technology is an oxymoron.
Having better recycling programs like Dell, which does free recycling without additional purchases is a good start. Also, adding incentives to recycle, and giving discounts on plans for recycling old phone would be a good start. Recycling advocate groups want more efficient delivery methods according to the Reuters article. The computer chip industry continues to shrink the microprocessor, reducing the power consumption of computers gradually. Server technology is improving with virtualization, which decreases the space and power consumption.
Outside the box, the manufacturing of products became more efficient with interchangeable fabrication equipment. Wal-Mart is also pushing for the industry to improve. The largest supply chain manager is asking suppliers to fill out surveys dealing with their ecological practices before they restock their products.
So, while you might not see using obsolete technology becoming the next fad, you can surmise that the time for the more environmentally conscious tech industry has come. Let’s all look forward to the offerings this CES in Los Vegas; it’s a good start in any case.
Source doc: reuters
