Carry On Computing

New end-of-life rules could cause major waves in the computing industry - for PC vendors and end users alike. Richard Barrington of Sun Microsystems explores the positive potential of the WEEE Directive.

IT vendors and end-user businesses are now responsible for disposing of obsolete technology in an environmentally friendly way. It may sound simple, but in practice they’ll need to re-evaluate their processes, and indeed their business models, if they are to prosper under the new regime. Introduced in October this year, the EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive enshrines the principle that manufacturers have to take responsibility for the eventual disposal of their products.

And it could spur a new approach to the design and manufacture of IT - one that maximises useful life (extending PC lifecycles well beyond the traditional two to three years), reduces the need to replace and throw away, and ensures that end-of-life equipment poses less threat to the environment. Companies will face more administrative headaches, however, in planning for the disposal of their technology. At present, an estimated 1.5 million obsolete PCs get buried each year in landfill sites.

The problems of this mountain of waste are compounded by pollution from toxic chemicals such as lead, arsenic and mercury. The government has recognised that this is an increasingly important issue - not to mention a huge waste of potentially recyclable components. As it strives to reach its target of recycling 70% of all computers, the vendors and business users have no choice but to fall into line. The PC industry in particular faces major changes.

Many technology vendors thrive on built-in obsolescence to force quick upgrade patterns - a business model that will fundamentally need to change, to comply with the directive. Nor will end-user businesses be able just to dump old kit in a skip. They’ll be required either to obtain a waste management licence, or to find a licensed company to dispose of their old computers.

The benefits for the environment are numerous. A recent UN report highlighted that manufacturing an ordinary PC and monitor uses 1.8 tonnes of raw materials - 640 times the weight of the actual equipment. Then there’s the power consumed and heat produced during its lifetime, and the eventual disposal - all adding up to a significant environmental headache. Until now, almost all the focus from manufacturers has been on improving technical specifications such as processor speeds or connectivity, rather than on making the technology more sustainable.

For the WEEE Directive to have maximum impact, it’s essential that they now look beyond what they do with their existing kit, and fundamentally examine what goes into designing and building the current technology. One example of alternative devices is the development of Ultra Thin Clients (UTCs). Created over the last three years, this approach means that the machine sitting on your desktop doesn’t need all the processing power and capabilities of the conventional PC.

It becomes your gateway to a data centre, and doesn’t need changing every time you want an upgrade. The environmental benefits are hard to overstate. A UTC offers up to a 90% reduction in overall footprint, with a life expectancy in the region of two to three times longer than that of a traditional PC.

Running at around 15 watts (as opposed to an average 250 watts for a PC) and using around 90% less energy, the reductions in power consumption and heat generation are significant. At Sun Microsystems, the emphasis has always been on delivering sustainable and cost-effective equipment to all our customers. For us, WEEE is business as usual.

With an industry-leading take-back programme already in place, we are proud that 80% of the systems we recover are remanufactured, providing our customers with 'as new' technology at considerable benefit to the environment. In addition, all excess metals and plastics are recovered, leaving less than 1% to enter the waste stream.

Other manufacturers, spurred perhaps by Sun’s example as well as by their own foresight and pressure from concerned organisations, may adopt similar models. The focus will be on making future products more sustainable, rather than simply worrying about the disposal of redundant technology.

Richard Barrington is head of government affairs and public policy at Sun Microsystems UK.

10 November 2004

Richard Barrington