Dell pledges recycling goals – but EU law demands more

What these groups do not mention is that in Europe, recycling goals are already written into law – and companies like Dell only have until August 2004 to get their systems in place.

According to the joint statement by As You Sow and Calvert, Dell's commitment includes the following:

• Establish and report quantitative recycling goals for desktop and portable equipment by March 2004.
• Establish a system to track and publicly disclose what happens to Dell computer components when they are taken back by Dell, managed as waste (e.g., land filled, reused, incinerated, etc.), or recycled by Dell's recycling vendors.
• Continue to verify that its recycling vendors adhere to the no-export clause, prohibiting the export of waste to developing countries.
• Publicly reaffirm that Dell's U.S. recycling vendors are complying with health and safety standards equivalent to U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations.
• Study and implement a plan that takes advantage of Dell's unique and successful direct sales model to boost the effectiveness in product recycling programs.

Dell's commitment is commendable, given that it goes further than most of its domestic rivals. According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, people in the US will discard 500 million computers between 1997-2007, and currently only about 10% of old computers are recycled. Recent reports have called into question the adequacy and safety of existing recycling programs, and many old computers and components are simply dumped into developing countries.

Japanese PC maker NEC promotes recycling, although no quantifiable goals appear to exist for its global operations, at least not publicly. However, it has approached the environmental issue another way.

NEC recently released a desktop computer that meets strict standards for low energy consumption set by Japan. Moreover, it comes with a lead-free motherboard, a monitor that contains no boron and a plastic case constructed of recyclable plastic. It also contains no cadmium, cyanic compounds, hexavalent chromium or organic phosphates – pollutants found in most computers.

However, both recycling and the eco-friendly manufacturing are soon to be required of all producers operating in Europe, albeit little media attention has been paid to this new eco-friendly legal regime.

The UK Government began an 18-month consultation process on two European Directives last month. The UK proposes jail terms for producers failing to meet standards laid down by the Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and the Restricting Certain Hazardous Substances (ROHS) Directive in electrical goods came into effect in February.

The WEEE Directive sets criteria for the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment. It makes producers responsible for financing most of these activities, and the UK's Department of Trade and Industry suggests a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment and an unlimited fine for those failing to comply. Producers include manufacturers and resellers of equipment purchased outside the EU.

The ROHS Directive facilitates the dismantling and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment by restricting the use of hazardous substances used in their manufacture.