http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/en/press/releases/after-vista-a-deluge-of-e-was
After Vista, a deluge of E-waste to developing countries, Greenpeace warns
February 03, 2007
Manila, PHILIPPINES Vista, Microsoft's newest operating system,
could trigger a deluge of E-waste in developing countries, Greenpeace
warned today. The group argues that with Vista, more companies and
individuals may feel the need to replace their existing computers
sooner as these become incompatible with the new operating system. The
result: massive volumes of computer scrap in dirty recycling yards and
dumpsites in the Philippines, Thailand, and in other Asian countries
where most of the world's E-waste dumps are located.
"With Vista, Microsoft could effectively hasten the obsolesence of
half the world's PCs, especially in the absence of fully-functioning
global take back systems for PCs," said Greenpeace Southeast Asia
Toxics Campaigner Beau Baconguis. "Companies will feel the need to
upgrade more computers soonerand when they do, the world is
unfortunately not prepared for the massive E-waste the upgrades will
generate."
"As it is, the current environmental policies of computer companies
are not enough to provide an effective solution to the growing
mountains of toxic electronic waste from computer components.
Microsoft should have factored in these consequences and should have
laid out mitigating measures to minimize the problem of obsolescence,
before they started introducing new innovations. Innovation should not
translate to more pollution," she added.
A study conducted by SoftChoice Corporation stated that 50% of the
current breed of personal computers are "below Windows Vista's basic
system requirements" while 94% are not equipped to run on Windows
Vista Premium edition.
The ability of PCs to be easily upgraded is also important if the
massive volumes of E-waste is to be prevented. Greenpeace has been
engaging manufacturers of PCs and mobile phones to phase out toxic
substances in their products and institute take-back mechanisms for
the same products at the end of their useful lives. The demand comes
with a challenge to PC manufacturers to design their products so that
these may be easily upgraded, disassembled, and recycled properly.
"We maintain that the useful lives of existing electronic and computer
equipment should be prolonged as much as possible. In the end, this is
about social responsibility. The idea that software innovation would
result in more mountains of computer scrap ending up in the dumps of
Asia and Africa, contaminating the environment, and affecting the
health of communities, is both offensive and intolerable," said
Baconguis.
Contact information
* Beau Baconguis
Telephone: +63 917 803 6077
*
Beau Baconguis, Toxics Campaigner, +63 917 803 6077
Lea Guerrero, Media Campaigner, +63 916 374 4969, +63 2 434 7034 loc 104
Join http://Badvista.org : Stopping Vista adoption by promoting free software
Join DRM Elimination Crew http://fci.wikia.com/wiki/Anti-DRM-Campaign
Anivar Aravind
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
greenyouth mailinglist is the activist support mailinglist for kerala run by
Global Alternate Information Applications (GAIA)
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
