Sustainable electronics

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Sustainable electronics are electronic products made with no toxic chemicals, recyclable parts, and reduced carbon emissions during production. "Sustainability is still very new, emerging business concept. Because of that, we lack uniform guidelines or standards applicable per industry sector that can help companies establish best practices." [1]

Contents

Brands

According to Rank a Brand Electronics Green Fair Ranking Report in 2014, none of the electronic brands met all of their green requirements for level A. The only company to reach level B was Fairphone, who met 60% of their standards. Level C was awarded to Apple and Nokia with 45% and 40% respectively. [2] The majority of the researched electronic brands were put into level D. These brands include Sony, Acer, Dell, HP, Samsung, Motorola, Philips, Blackberry, Lenovo, Toshiba. They met less than 35% of the Rank a Brand criteria. [3] Rank a Brand generalizes their findings into 4 main categories: reporting on sustainability, climate protection, ecology, and fair labor. All brands report on sustainability. Nokia is the top brand for climate protection, and Fairphone is the top brand for both ecology and fair labor. Apple, although criticized for their sustainability efforts, is a strong second in all of these categories apart from ecology. [4]

BrandLabel
-A
Fairphone B
Apple, Nokia C
Sony, HP, Acer, Samsung, Dell

Motorola, Philips, Blackberry,

Lenovo, Toshiba

D
LG, ASUS, ZTE, HTC, Microsoft,

HUAWEI, Nintendo

E

[2]

Companies who receive an E label are stamped with Electronic Greenwashing Alert, which means that consumers can not clearly find or understand their sustainability information and might find themselves confused or misguided. [2]

Use of hazardous chemicals

Many hazardous chemicals and materials are used in the production of electronics. These substances are further outlined in this page about electronic waste substances.

No brand in 2014 had completely eliminated use of Phthalates, beryllium, antimony, BFRs, and PVC in their productions, but Nokia and Motorola have the best track record by eliminating 3 out of 5 above mentioned chemicals. [2]

Benefits

"Sustainable ICT will enable us to protect and enhance human health and well-being and the environment over generations while minimizing the adverse life-cycle impacts of devices, infrastructure and services." [5]

Electronics contain many chemicals that are known to cause issues with human health. A lot of these chemicals also easily seep into the environment, whether it be in soil, water or the air. A lot of e-waste is exported to third world countries such as China and India, where the waste is put in a landfill and the chemicals are allowed to seep into the environment. In the U.S. in 2011 only about 25% of e-waste was actually recycled. [6] [7] By using sustainable electronics principles, such as Green Engineering, chemicals can be prevented from entering electronics in the first place, or can be removed properly once a product has reached the end of its life cycle.

The generation of natural bio-composites based electronics would remove the need for corrosive acids, currently used in Electronic waste recycling to recover precious metals. In developing countries, the use of these chemicals is very common as it is cheap, however. These acids, primarily hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, create massive amounts of leaching which require further processing to prevent pollution. [8] Their unregulated use is harmful for both the environment and the workers that utilize it. [9] The use of bio generated composites removes the need for acid digestion in the recycling process as current plastic based recycling methods suffice at collecting the recoverable metals. [10]

Green engineering is the process of using sustainable materials and methods to create products that can be used for long periods of time and can be taken apart and reused; ultimately fostering a sustainable way to build and use technology. Green engineering works to find solutions to the waste and hazardous materials that are frequently used in the building of technology today. The goals of green engineering are to use materials that will “conserve and improve natural ecosystems while protecting human health and well-being.” [11] Along with this, the EPA wants to have incentives to motivate companies and developers to have green engineering in mind when they produce their products. They want green engineering to become the norm as technology moves forward. The development of green engineering across communities and across the globe will promote a more sustainable way of life as humans continue to rely on technology to improve their daily lives.

Organizations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazardous waste</span> Ignitable, reactive, corrosive and/or toxic unwanted or unusable materials

Hazardous waste is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Hazardous waste is a type of dangerous goods. They usually have one or more of the following hazardous traits: ignitability, reactivity, corrosivity, toxicity. Listed hazardous wastes are materials specifically listed by regulatory authorities as hazardous wastes which are from non-specific sources, specific sources, or discarded chemical products. Hazardous wastes may be found in different physical states such as gaseous, liquids, or solids. A hazardous waste is a special type of waste because it cannot be disposed of by common means like other by-products of our everyday lives. Depending on the physical state of the waste, treatment and solidification processes might be required.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemical waste</span> Waste made from harmful chemicals

Chemical waste is any excess, unused, or unwanted chemical, especially those that cause damage to human health or the environment. Chemical waste may be classified as hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste, universal waste, or household hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is material that displays one or more of the following four characteristics: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity. This information, along with chemical disposal requirements, is typically available on a chemical's Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Radioactive waste requires special ways of handling and disposal due to its radioactive properties. Biohazardous waste, which may contain hazardous materials, is also handled differently.

Eastman Chemical Company is an American company primarily involved in the chemical industry. Once a subsidiary of Kodak, today it is an independent global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and fibers for everyday purposes. Founded in 1920 and based in Kingsport, Tennessee, the company now has more than 50 manufacturing sites worldwide and employs approximately 14,000 people.

Green chemistry, similar to sustainable chemistry or circular chemistry, is an area of chemistry and chemical engineering focused on the design of products and processes that minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. While environmental chemistry focuses on the effects of polluting chemicals on nature, green chemistry focuses on the environmental impact of chemistry, including lowering consumption of nonrenewable resources and technological approaches for preventing pollution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extended producer responsibility</span> Strategy designed to promote the integration of environmental costs associated with goods

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a strategy to add all of the estimated environmental costs associated with a product throughout the product life cycle to the market price of that product, contemporarily mainly applied in the field of waste management. Such societal costs are typically externalities to market mechanisms, with a common example being the impact of cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrial wastewater treatment</span> Processes used for treating wastewater that is produced by industries as an undesirable by-product

Industrial wastewater treatment describes the processes used for treating wastewater that is produced by industries as an undesirable by-product. After treatment, the treated industrial wastewater may be reused or released to a sanitary sewer or to a surface water in the environment. Some industrial facilities generate wastewater that can be treated in sewage treatment plants. Most industrial processes, such as petroleum refineries, chemical and petrochemical plants have their own specialized facilities to treat their wastewaters so that the pollutant concentrations in the treated wastewater comply with the regulations regarding disposal of wastewaters into sewers or into rivers, lakes or oceans. This applies to industries that generate wastewater with high concentrations of organic matter, toxic pollutants or nutrients such as ammonia. Some industries install a pre-treatment system to remove some pollutants, and then discharge the partially treated wastewater to the municipal sewer system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic waste recycling</span> Form of recycling

Electronic waste recycling, electronics recycling, or e-waste recycling is the disassembly and separation of components and raw materials of waste electronics; when referring to specific types of e-waste, the terms like computer recycling or mobile phone recycling may be used. Like other waste streams, reuse, donation, and repair are common sustainable ways to dispose of IT waste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic waste</span> Discarded electronic devices

Electronic waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. It is also commonly known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or end-of-life (EOL) electronics. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries can lead to adverse human health effects and environmental pollution. The growing consumption of electronic goods due to the Digital Revolution and innovations in science and technology, such as bitcoin, has led to a global e-waste problem and hazard. The rapid exponential increase of e-waste is due to frequent new model releases and unnecessary purchases of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), short innovation cycles and low recycling rates, and a drop in the average life span of computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste minimisation</span> Process that involves reducing the amount of waste produced in society

Waste minimisation is a set of processes and practices intended to reduce the amount of waste produced. By reducing or eliminating the generation of harmful and persistent wastes, waste minimisation supports efforts to promote a more sustainable society. Waste minimisation involves redesigning products and processes and/or changing societal patterns of consumption and production.

Design for the environment (DfE) is a design approach to reduce the overall human health and environmental impact of a product, process or service, where impacts are considered across its life cycle. Different software tools have been developed to assist designers in finding optimized products or processes/services. DfE is also the original name of a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program, created in 1992, that works to prevent pollution, and the risk pollution presents to humans and the environment. The program provides information regarding safer chemical formulations for cleaning and other products. EPA renamed its program "Safer Choice" in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste</span> Unwanted or unusable materials

Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, joint product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product's value above zero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental effects of paper</span> Overview about the environmental effects of the paper production industry

The environmental effects of paper are significant, which has led to changes in industry and behaviour at both business and personal levels. With the use of modern technology such as the printing press and the highly mechanized harvesting of wood, disposable paper became a relatively cheap commodity, which led to a high level of consumption and waste. The rise in global environmental issues such as air and water pollution, climate change, overflowing landfills and clearcutting have all lead to increased government regulations. There is now a trend towards sustainability in the pulp and paper industry as it moves to reduce clear cutting, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption and clean up its influence on local water supplies and air pollution.

Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) is an initiative started in the United States in the summer of 2009 by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, which is a division of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. SEI is dedicated to developing and implementing sustainable means for the design, manufacturing, remanufacturing, and recycling of electronics Members of SEI include individuals from academia, non-profit organizations, government agencies, manufacturers, designers, recyclers and refurbishers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic waste in the United States</span>

Electronic waste or e-waste in the United States refers to electronic products that have reached the end of their operable lives, and the United States is beginning to address its waste problems with regulations at a state and federal level. Used electronics are the quickest-growing source of waste and can have serious health impacts. The United States is the world leader in producing the most e-waste, followed closely by China; both countries domestically recycle and export e-waste. Only recently has the United States begun to make an effort to start regulating where e-waste goes and how it is disposed of. There is also an economic factor that has an effect on where and how e-waste is disposed of. Electronics are the primary users of precious and special metals, retrieving those metals from electronics can be viewed as important as raw metals may become more scarce

Environmentally sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability and also aimed at improving the health and comfort of occupants in a building. Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, the health and well-being of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objectives of sustainability are to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources, minimize waste, and create healthy, productive environments.

Recycling can be carried out on various raw materials. Recycling is an important part of creating more sustainable economies, reducing the cost and environmental impact of raw materials. Not all materials are easily recycled, and processing recyclable into the correct waste stream requires considerable energy. Some particular manufactured goods are not easily separated, unless specially process therefore have unique product-based recycling processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste in the United States</span>

As a nation, Americans generate more waste than any other nation in the world, officially with 4.4 pounds (2.0 kg) of municipal solid waste (MSW) per person per day, with another study estimating 7.1 pounds (3.2 kg) per capita per day. Fifty five percent of this waste is contributed as residential garbage, while the remaining forty five percent of waste in the U.S.'s 'waste stream' comes from manufacturing, retailing, and commercial trade in the U.S. economy. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, Nevada produces the most waste at "[nearly] 8 pounds (3.6 kg) per person per day". Approximately 90% of all waste produced by Nevadans ends up in landfills. "Wasteful" states Michigan, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Oregon as well as Washington also dominated the list's 5-year period.

Resource recovery is using wastes as an input material to create valuable products as new outputs. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste generated, thereby reducing the need for landfill space, and optimising the values created from waste. Resource recovery delays the need to use raw materials in the manufacturing process. Materials found in municipal solid waste, construction and demolition waste, commercial waste and industrial wastes can be used to recover resources for the manufacturing of new materials and products. Plastic, paper, aluminium, glass and metal are examples of where value can be found in waste.

Green engineering not the design of products and processes by applying financially and technologically feasible principles to achieve one or more of the following goals: (1) decrease in the amount of pollution that is generated by a construction or operation of a facility, (2) minimization of human population exposure to potential hazards, (3) improved uses of matter and energy throughout the life cycle of the product and processes, and (4) maintaining economic efficiency and viability. Green engineering can an overarching framework for all design disciplines.

Sustainable Materials Management is a systemic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire lifecycles. It represents a change in how a society thinks about the use of natural resources and environmental protection. By looking at a product's entire lifecycle new opportunities can be found to reduce environmental impacts, conserve resources, and reduce costs.

References

  1. ↑ "Key Sustainability Issues in the Electronics Industry: Sustainability Industry Report - SCM | Supply Chain Resource Cooperative (SCRC) | North Carolina State University". scm.ncsu.edu. 2012-06-18. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Dziamski, Mario (June 2014). "Sustainable Electronics Report 2014" (PDF). Berlin/ Amstgerdam: Rank a Brand e.V. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Dziamski, Mario (June 2014). "Sustainable Electronics" (PDF). rankabrand.org.
  4. ↑ Rampell, Catherine (29 October 2013). "Cracking the Apple Trap". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Sahle-Demessie, E. (15 October 2012). "Sustainable Electronics Roadmap" (PDF). US EPA. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Campaign Platform". electronicstakeback.com.
  7. ↑ "E-Waste". svtc.org.
  8. ↑ Tansel, Berrin (2017-01-20). "From electronic consumer products to e-wastes: Global outlook, waste quantities, recycling challenges". Environment International. 98: 35–45. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2016.10.002. ISSN   0160-4120. PMID   27726897.
  9. ↑ Needhidasan, Santhanam; Samuel, Melvin; Chidambaram, Ramalingam (2014-01-20). "Electronic waste – an emerging threat to the environment of urban India". Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering. 12 (1): 36. doi: 10.1186/2052-336X-12-36 . ISSN   2052-336X. PMC   3908467 . PMID   24444377.
  10. ↑ Needhidasan, Santhanam; Samuel, Melvin; Chidambaram, Ramalingam (2014-01-20). "Electronic waste – an emerging threat to the environment of urban India". Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering. 12 (1): 36. doi: 10.1186/2052-336X-12-36 . ISSN   2052-336X. PMC   3908467 . PMID   24444377.
  11. ↑ "About Green Engineering". EPA.gov. 17 August 2016.
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