In an earlier post,
we have seen that proper disposal of unwanted or broken electronic devices, the
so-called “Technotrash”, is an important part of Green IT. Very often, these
devices are not even recycled, but instead end up in landfills releasing heavy
metals into our land, water and air.
What if we choose to reuse computers
instead of recycling them? It's more earth-friendly than recycling as reuse
extends the life of a working computer significantly. It's easy on the environment
as no hazardous materials are exported and no parts end up in landfills.
Reusing just one computer with a CRT monitor will save:
·
30
lbs of hazardous waste
·
77
lbs of solid waste
·
147
lbs (17.5 gallons) of water from being polluted
·
32
tons of air from being polluted
·
1,333
lbs of CO2 from being emitted
·
7,719 kilowatts of energy (U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency)
You might wonder who would like to
reuse old computers and how companies manage to find these people? There are
several organizations around the world that can help with that. One of them is
Interconnection, a Seattle-based organization that
helps non-governmental organizations and poor communities around the world by
providing high-quality refurbished desktop and laptop computers. As
Interconnection states on its website: “Old desktops or laptops might be ready
to retire but they can still travel the world on important missions.” In the past
15 years, InterConnection has provided tens of thousands of computers to
organization in 40 countries and reached over 250,000 people.
More than 750 companies partner
with Interconnection, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies since Interconnection
does not offer only professional IT Asset Disposition service, but also charitable
reuse. Companies even have the power to direct refurbished computers towards a
cause of their choice. Interconnection makes it easy for companies to join:
free national pickups and secure data destruction.
No comments:
Post a Comment