Happy endings for cast-off PCs

Earth Day - now 33 years old - may be a low-profile holiday, but at least some consumers may pause Tuesday to consider the environmental impact of participating in a high-tech society.

Castoffs now pile up at the back door. During the technology boom of the late '90s many people bought personal computers and other electronic gadgets that are now outdated. About 250 million computers are expected to become obsolete over the next three years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In addition to computers, 3.2 million tons of electronic waste - televisions, fax machines, stereos, camcorders, cellphones, VCRs, and disks - are laid to rest in landfills each year. Down the road, mobile phones will be discarded at a rate of 130 million per year by 2005, adding 65,000 more tons of waste, according to the EPA.

Environmentalists give many reasons not to toss old electronic devices in the trash heap. Most defunct computer screens and obsolete TVs each contain four to eight pounds of lead.

Other electronic products contain hazardous materials that pose environmental risks if they are dropped into landfills or incinerated. Cadmium, mercury, nickel, zinc, and other heavy metals as well as toxic solvents and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), may enter the waste stream and can end up in drinking water.

No surprise that the electronic junkyard has become the target of the EPA's new "Plug-In to eCycling Campaign," which promotes the reuse or recycling of old electronics.

Major computer manufacturers have launched programs to collect and recycle old PCs and printers. Dell and Hewlett-Packard offer rebates to consumers who trade in old PCs for new ones. (Only 11 percent of personal computers retired in the US in 2001 were recycled, according to the EPA, perhaps because consumers balk at shipping fees often charged for returning systems to a recycling facility.)

Motorola and Verizon now collect unused wireless phones for donation to victims of domestic violence. Gateway, Panasonic, Canon, Epson, and AT&T Wireless also collect used printers, cartridges, scanners, cameras, projectors, and cellphones for recycling. Best Buy leads retailers in organizing regular recycling programs.

Recycling end-of-life electronics recovers valuable materials. In 1998 more than 112 million pounds of steel, glass, plastic, and precious metals were recovered from various electronic equipment. Most states have EPA-permitted recycling facilities, either private or government sponsored, which can be accessed through a database maintained by Electronic Industries Alliance, www.eiae.org.

Last December, the European Union issued directives requiring manufacturers to bear financial responsibility for recycling and disposing of electronics. A similar attempt was made in the California legislature last fall, but the bill was vetoed by Gov. Gray Davis. It has been reinstated after HP, which initially opposed the bill, reversed its position and now supports such legislation.

"Twenty-five different pieces of legislation are ready to be introduced this year" across the US, says Jim Puckett, coordinator of Basel Action Network, www.ban.org, a group devoted to banning exports of hazardous e-waste.

Proposed regulations vary greatly in scope, however, leading Mr. Puckett to anticipate that a federal program will be instituted when industry tires of the patchwork approach resulting from different state bills.

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