Reduce E-waste
"Don't waste electricity, don't waste paper, don't waste food. Live the way you want to live but just don't waste. Look after the natural world, and the animals in it, and the plants in it too. This is their planet as well as ours."
- David Attenborough
Industrial waste needs to be tackled. We throw away millions of tons of e-waste every year, much of it still working but tatty or dirty and very little of it obsolete.
Only 17% is recycled sustainably. The majority is not recycled. It is not reasonable to assume that sending it to be recycled means it can be. The longer you can keep your IT working and in use, the less your staff consume and therefore the lower the waste your company produces.
It is easy and cheap to buy a lot of IT these days, but attitudes are changing and we are beginning to understand the impact of this constant consumption.
The UK produces about 25kg of e-waste per person. That is way more than most of Europe, in fact we are second in the world for e-waste per capita. We have directives like WEEE to help force businesses to recycle but we consistently miss our targets and there is still the question of what to do with the waste even if it is being disposed of safely and properly.
Much of is toxic after disposal. Smart phones are valuable and the metals make it worth recycling but a keyboard is mainly scrap and the plastic cannot melted down as it is mixed in with other materials.
If it goes into landfill it can leech harmful toxins, especially if it has batteries inside. The plastics cannot be separated from the metals currently and as we all know plastics don't go away and are not easy to dispose of and end up in the oceans as micro plastics.
You don't need to have a laptop for life like a "Bag For Life", of course you will need to upgrade but much of your IT is made of plastic and will last for years and years if cared for. Keyboards and mice especially do not need to be replaced every couple of years. If you can push your laptops to lasting for 3 years instead of 2 years, then after 6 years you have reduced your consumption by a third. Saving your company money as well as helping the planet.
Cleaning your IT makes it work better for longer. It makes it hygienic and safe to use by removing germs and viruses. It makes it function better by removing the finger marks from screens and the dirt and grime that makes keys stick. Research shows a clean laptop or PC will be looked after better by the user because it will be perceived as being newer.
So, if you aren't already, get your PCs, laptops and peripherals deep cleaned by Techclean regularly to help keep them out of the oceans and do your bit for the environment.
WEEE Regulations Cost You Money To Throw Away I.T. Now
The government are making efforts to reduce waste by charging to throw it away. Reduce your WEEE costs by keeping your keyboards and mice and peripherals working as long as possible. Saving the planet as well as money.
