The long-awaited launch of Microsoft Vista late last year is expected to result in a surge of obsolete PCs market as companies go ahead with deferred desktop systems upgrades.
Analysts are predicting that as many as 10 million computers could be discarded over the next two years in the UK alone, posing a problem for businesses looking to meet recycling regulations such as the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive that comes into force in July.
There is a range of choices for companies needing both to avoid dumping PCs in landfill sites and to address corporate social responsibility requirements.
One option is to give redundant hardware to a charity that can organise for the kit to be recycled or reused.
Computer Aid International, for example, refurbishes PCs for use in the developing world.
Under the WEEE directive, donating to the developing world makes good business sense, Computer Aid chief executive Tony Roberts told Computing.
And with e-waste recycling facilities in the UK already struggling to cope with the WEEE directive, reuse is even more appropriate, he says.
‘Green issues are rising up the business agenda and we can guarantee that donations produce zero landfill and offer 100 per cent traceability through the waste stream,’ said Roberts.
Reuse is a practical solution because computers are rarely obsolete after the three- or four-year lifespan of a typical business desktop upgrade cycle.
‘If we can extend the life of a computer by a further three years, we can halve its environmental footprint,’ said Roberts.
‘It also provides an extra 6,000 hours of usage to people that would not otherwise have access to IT,’ he said.
Concerns that company security could be jeopardised by corporate information left on the recycled systems put a major brake on firms recycling their old PCs, says Gartner analyst Steve Prentice.
‘Most businesses have no problems with recycling in principle, but are understandably wary of data being stolen,’ said Prentice.
‘There is a limited number of organisations capable of professionally recycling PCs – other than physically destroying them, firms cannot be 100 per cent sure their data is safe,’ he said.
Computer Aid says it employs market-leading, data-destruction software to address the problem.
As environmental issues really take hold, such practices will become standard and the number of companies donating computers to charity will increase, says Gartner’s Prentice.
‘Environmental concerns have come from nowhere to number two on the agenda, only behind data security.
‘And, regardless of the WEEE directive, many businesses are now looking at how to dispose of PCs properly because of customer demand,’ he said.
Charities are also working to ensure that the reuse of obsolete systems in developing countries does not result in the problem of electronic waste being overlooked.
Computers for Schools Kenya (CFSK) distributes desktops provided by Computer Aid, and makes sure every possible component is recycled or reused.
‘When a PC no longer works, we remove all the parts that can still be used for the maintenance of other computers and what is not reusable is separated,’ said CFSK technical services manager Edwin Martins.
‘We divide the soft and hard plastics – the soft plastic is recycled locally where it is melted down and reshaped into new products, and the hard plastic is shipped to recycling plants in China,’ he said.
Metals such as gold, silver, iron, copper and aluminium are stripped out and recycled locally and by Chinese metal dealers.
The biggest challenge is recycling old monitors because they are bulky to ship and contain toxic parts that require special processing. But while finding the funds for an early shipment, CFSK developed an innovative solution to the problem.
The tubes inside computer monitors often work even after the electronic components have failed. So CFSK removes the circuitry and replaces it with a television board.
‘We hook the tube to the television circuit, rewire the buttons to create volume and channel buttons and put in new speakers,’ said Martins.
‘We then have a working TV that lasts longer and is cheaper than a regular set,’ he said.
CFSK has more than 400 old monitors in storage, but expects to recycle them all within the next two years.
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