Are your gadgets green enough?

We all run around these days, trying to do our bit by avoiding standby on gadgets, even buying our electricity from renewable suppliers. What we rarely hear about is the effects of the gadgets themselves on the environment. Well, that’s probably because most companies don’t have a whole lot of good news to tell you.

That cleverly bundled package of wires, plastic and chemicals sitting on your desk, or on a table in the corner of the living room, could be the real eco-villain in your house. TVs and computers, it seems, are pretty ghoulish concoctions.

So says this year’s Greenpeace Greener Electronics guide, published last week in the wake of the 140,000-person-strong Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This is their 14^th edition of the guide, and it’s not afraid to name names.

Samsung in particular are the target of much ire – even provoking an online petition from Greenpeace that begins: “Electronics giant Samsung has recently backtracked on its public commitment to eliminate hazardous chemicals such as PVC (vinyl) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFR) from its product line. Unlike other electronics companies such as Apple, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, and HP, Samsung needs more consumers tell it to keep its promises and remove these substances before they end up contaminating soil and water in an e-waste dump in Asia or Africa.”

It’s the PVC and BFR that cause so much of the damage, according to Greenpeace’s report: PVC is the most damaging of all, in every phase of its life cycle, while BFRs can build up in the bodies of humans and animals. “Eliminating the substances will decrease exposure and increase the recyclability and reusability of electronic products,” Greenpeace point out.

With the mountain of e-waste building up by the minute, and plenty of it finding its way to developing nations for cheap disposal, one sure way to make sure you’re not adding to the problem is to repair, reuse and recycle in your own country first.

When that’s out of the question, refer yourself to the Greenpeace guide to make a fair and informed decision: Nokia seem to be doing a great job, while Apple has eliminated toxic PVC (vinyl) plastic, making it the first company to completely expunge hazardous BFRs and PVC in its computer systems. As for Nintendo – they’re bigger eco-villains than Donkey Kong himself. Read the report in full here.

Ed Chipperfield

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