Generating a movement
Generating a movement
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| Jonas Allen |
For decades, the electronics industry has taken steps to begin closing the loop. Data from the Brussels-based World Steel Association show that the use of plastics has exponentially outpaced the use of paper and steel since the 1970s, particularly from the mid-1990s onward. This can be attributed to many factors. One that cannot be ignored is the similarly timed proliferation of electronics.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of households owning computers increased from 15 percent to 35 percent between 1990 and 1997. The bulk of that growth came from 1994 onward. By August 2000, the U.S. Census reported that 51 percent of all U.S. homes had one or more computers, and by 2011 that number had grown to 75.6 percent. As personal computer ownership rates escalated, so did the rate at which recyclers processed end-of-life electronics. By 2011, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, estimates that more than 4 million tons of electronics were recycled in the United States alone.
Amid that massive growth in computer hardware, the electronics sector has made huge strides in its recycling and closed loop practices. An analysis of products registered in EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool), the environmental rating system for electronics, shows a significant uptick in postconsumer recycled (PCR) plastic in electronics during the past decade.
EPEAT launched in 2006 in the United States with a few dozen PCs from three manufacturers. The system now encompasses thousands of products from more than 60 manufacturers across 43 countries and in three product categories. During that 10-year span, the number of laptops, desktops and monitors using recycled plastic has gone from a negligible number to nearly 1,000—about 20 percent of all EPEAT-registered computers. The bulk of that increase has come during the past five years. At present, the average percentage of PCR content in an EPEAT-registered computer or monitor stands at 16 percent. The percent of EPEAT-registered printers, copiers and multifunction devices that use PCR is even higher, at nearly 80 percent, though PCR represents just 1.6 percent of all plastic used. Nevertheless, the electronics sector has shown a clear movement toward closing the loop.
In 2015, the Green Electronics Council, Portland, Oregon, honored Dell with a Catalyst Award for the company’s innovative use of closed loop plastics. Dell debuted its program in May 2014 and now offers 34 products that use such plastics. Dell has shipped more than 4 million pounds of these plastics in its products worldwide, and 35 percent of all plastics used in Dell products are now PCR. The estimated carbon savings of those efforts: 292,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide, which is roughly equivalent to removing 60 passenger cars from the road for a year. The “resource reduction” focus of the 2016 Catalyst Awards could uncover a similar success story.
Such opportunities extend well beyond plastics. According to Trucost research, if the recycling rates for gold, silver and platinum all increased to 100 percent, the electronics sector could realize $12 billion in financial and natural capital benefits. Data also shows that recycling 1 ton of used cell phones, which amounts to about 6,000 devices, can recover up to 340 grams of gold. By comparison, 1 ton of mined gold ore contains just 6 grams of gold. This poses an opportunity for manufacturers to reduce their investment in procuring raw materials. It presents an opportunity for recyclers to find creative ways to build their capabilities to meet tomorrow’s demand. And it portends a future where the electronics sector can generate significant environmental benefits through its closed loop policies.
The path forward isn’t without hurdles, but recyclers have traveled a challenge-laden path for the past several years. Significant drops in commodity prices across nearly all material classes have put a notable squeeze on recyclers, as has the loss of business to the informal recycling sector. Developing countries also have faced infrastructure challenges.
Yet the opportunity is there to develop strategies to advance the closed loop principles that have been driving the electronics sector for years. The Green Electronics Council looks forward to working with recyclers, enterprises, manufacturers and other global stakeholders to explore solutions that hold both financial and environmental reward. Closing the loop may no longer be as simple as knitting a sweater, but it’s a darn good challenge to tackle head-on together.
Jonas Allen is director of marketing for the Green Electronics Council, based in Portland, Oregon. His career in the electronics sector has largely focused on business-to-business relationships between brands, retailers, enterprises and institutions.
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Source: Recycling Today
Generating a movement
<![CDATA[Once upon a time, closing the loop was something people were more likely to encounter in knitting circles. With a ball of yarn, a needle and some patience, you, too, could learn to “close a loop.” If only the term’s modern meaning could be done so simply. Recently, Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS), Plano, Texas, announced it had invested in the Closed Loop Fund, a social impact fund investing $100 million to increase the recycling of products and packaging. The fund has ambitious goals to generate environmental and employment benefits by closing the loop, and its participants can certainly help tackle a complex issue. Yet plastic is a key material in far more than bottles, including the electronics we use every day. Moreover, closing the loop with electronics is increasingly important to the world’s economy and environmental health. The global middle class is predicted to increase to 3.2 billion by 2020 and to 4.9 billion by 2030, according to Mario Pezzini, director of the France-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Center. This expanded middle class will demand and consume more electronics to connect, create and catalyze its future. Reducing the need for virgin materials is a key component…