The Environmental
Protection Act 1990 Part II gives certain
guidelines that are clearly applicable to
the disposal of IT equipment.
Section 75 of the Act defines
materials from industry and commerce that
are discarded, intended to be discarded
or are required to be discarded by the holder,
as "controlled waste".
Section 34 introduces a
statutory duty of care for those producing
controlled waste; waste must not be passed
to unlicensed persons or companies.
Section 33 emphasises the
importance of proper disposal in that it
makes Officers and Directors of a company
criminally liable for disposal of controlled
waste "in a manner likely to cause
pollution of the environment or harm to
human health".
The bulk of IT equipment
is uneconomic to recycle in its own right
and landfill may be seen as the "cheap"
option for disposal. However, computer housings
which appear quite harmless being predominantly
made from ABS, polycarbonate, high impact
polystyrene or PVC, may contain halogenated
fire retardants. The PVC, used for housing
and cable coverings, contains chloroparaffins
as softeners. Monitor tubes are constructed
with glass containing 23% lead oxide for
radiation shielding, and finally the screen
luminophors contain cadmium, zinc and various
types of batteries which may include cadmium,
lead, lithium, mercury and nickel in their
construction.
If not treated properly,
these hazardous materials pose significant
threats to the environment through potential
dispersion to air and ground water.
In terms of the monitors
Aurom also has agreements in place with
Europe's leading disposer of such products
where the toxic chemicals are removed and
disposed of environmentally and the glass
is recycled.
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