- This topic has 0 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 9 years, 9 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
But How Much Ink Is Used in Green Announcements?
Companies trying to be green are coming up with enough colorful comparisons to cover the Amazon River basin–twice.
In
November, Xerox announced that since 1991 it had reused or recycled a
total of 2 billion pounds of spent toner cartridges, outmoded printers
and such — enough waste, it said, to fill more than 160,000 garbage
trucks, stretching more than 1,000 miles, from Seattle to the Mexican
border.The Environmental Protection Agency says that, in 2006, the
electronics manufacturers and retailers that have joined its “Plug into
eCycling” program had, by collecting and recycling ink cartridges and
machines, saved enough electricity to power more than 7,000 homes.And
today Hewlett-Packard said that in 2007 alone it recycled 250 million
pounds of hardware and printer cartridges — the equivalent of “more
than double the weight of the Titanic.”It makes one almost nostalgic
for the hackneyed “the length of ten football fields” comparison.But
behind the descriptions is a real race among electronics companies to
how how serious they are about going green. It has never been easy. The
design tricks printer companies have used to make it harder for
outsiders to refill their cartridges has also made it hard for the
companies themselves to refill them. And despite myths about the pace
of technological obsolescence, H.P. has found that people hold onto
printers, on average, for 7 years, and computers for 12. Even charities
don’t want them by then, and few of their parts are usable.“I keep
hearing people say that half of the equipment we take back is reusable,
but it’s just not,’’ said Renee St. Denis, who heads H.P.’s Product
Takeback project in the United States.H.P. did refurbish about
65 million pounds of equipment last year, some of it resold, much
donated. H.P. said that it has recycled more than one billion pounds of
materials since 1987, and expects to hit the 2 billion mark by
2010.Most of the old equipment gets shredded and sorted into steel,
plastic, and other materials that can then be used for anything. The
cartridges, though, Hewlett-Packard keeps for itself — it has started
making them from PET, the same plastics used to make water bottles, and
the same plastics that Patagonia uses to make fleece clothing.One could
argue that, with so many uses for PET, H.P. would have been doing more
for the environment if it had continued to refill old cartridges, or
figured out a way to successfully recycle other plastics. But the
company is diverting at least a few football fields worth of waste from
landfills — and from re-manufacturers.HP Recycles Nearly 250 Million Pounds of Products in 2007 – 50 Percent Increase Over 2006
PALO
ALTO, Calif.–HP today announced it recycled nearly 250 million pounds
of hardware and print cartridges globally in its fiscal year 2007 – an
increase of approximately 50 percent over the previous year and the
equivalent of more than double the weight of the Titanic.
HP also
reused 65 million pounds of hardware to be refurbished for resale or
donation, increasing its annual reuse rate by 30 percent.
In 2007,
HP surpassed its goal to recycle 1 billion pounds of technology
equipment and is well on its way to reaching its new goal to recover 2
billion pounds of products by the end of 2010.“HP set the most
aggressive recovery goal in the IT industry and we’re on track to meet
it,” said Pat Tiernan, vice president, Corporate, Social and
Environmental Responsibility, HP. “This progress demonstrates our
success in offering convenient and comprehensive recovery services
around the world and is another milestone in HP’s longstanding
environmental commitment.”Highlights from HP’s recycling programs in 2007 include:
* In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, HP nearly doubled the amount
it recycled over last year to 170 million pounds (77,111 metric tonnes)
of equipment.
* In the Americas region, HP recycled an estimated 65 million pounds (29,484 metric tonnes) of equipment.
* In the Asia Pacific region, HP recycled 13 million pounds (5,897 metric tonnes) of equipment.Designing with the environment in mind
Last
week, HP announced it has developed an engineering breakthrough that
enables the use of post-consumer recycled plastics in the production of
new Original HP inkjet print cartridges. The company’s innovative
recycling process facilitates the combination of multiple sources and
grades of recycled plastics – from everyday water bottles to highly
technical HP inkjet cartridges returned through HP’s Planet Partners
program.In addition to closing the design loop, using recycled content
saves energy and keeps plastic out of landfills – since first piloting
the process, HP has used enough recycled plastic to fill more than 200
tractor trailers.(1)Using recycled content is the latest advancement
from HP’s Design for Environment program, which reduces the company’s
environmental impact through material usage, ease of recycling and
packaging efficiency.Recycling at HP
Started in 1987, HP’s
recycling program now operates in more than 50 countries, regions and
territories. The program seeks to reduce the environmental impact of IT
products, minimize waste going to landfills and help customers
conveniently and responsibly manage products at their end of life.
Plastics
and metals recovered from products recycled by HP have been used to
make a range of new products, including auto body parts, clothes
hangers, plastic toys, fence posts, serving trays and roof tiles. In
addition to recycling, HP offers a variety of product end-of-life
management services including donation, trade-in, asset recovery and
leasing.HP and the environment
For decades HP has worked to
manage its environmental impact by adopting environmentally responsible
practices in product development, operations and supply chain. The
company strives to be a global leader in reducing its carbon footprint,
limiting waste and recycling responsibly. More information about the
company’s environmental programs is available at http://www.hp.com/environment.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.