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By Michael Scott, Director, the Humane Society of Canada
The Humane Society of Canada is dedicated to keeping Canadians informed of important
environmental issues. One we have not
covered in the past is the growing environmental problem created by the
disposal of waste information technology (I.T.) equipment. We are pleased to
report this issue is on our government’s agenda and we intend to follow the progress of Environment Canada as they
and their global colleagues deal with this important challenge.
The Size Of The Problem
In a recent report prepared for the
National Office of Pollution Prevention, Environment Canada, it was estimated
that in 1999, more than 80,000 tonnes
of IT equipment waste were generated and that by the year 2005, this amount
will grow to approximately 170,000 tonnes. Many
of the materials contained in this waste can be potentially hazardous if
improperly managed. For example, printed
circuit boards contain heavy metals such as antimony, silver, chromium, zinc,
lead, tin and copper and cathode ray tubes of computer monitors contain a soluble form of lead oxide. It was estimated that in 2005, the weight of
lead, cadmium and mercury in the IT waste stream would be 3,000 tonnes, 500 tonnes
and 1,100 tonnes respectively
One of the initiatives under the Canadian
Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999 is the implementation of
environmentally sound management (ESM) of hazardous recyclable materials
nationally. ESM of both domestic and
imported hazardous recyclable materials is also one of this government’s
obligations under the Basel Convention and OECD decisions on wastes destined
for recovery operations.
The Government of Canada is developing
Guidelines on the management of IT waste.
These guidelines will provide guidance on the ESM of waste IT in Canada and to
ensure that exported and imported waste IT, to
and from Canada,
are managed to ensure that the
receiving facilities have the appropriate environmental and facility practices
in place to ensure protection of the
environment and human health.
Waste includes computers, monitors, printers, audio and video equipment,
peripherals and other electronic devices, and their consumables and media.
The Government is considering many issues including:
Technical Issues
• Technical production and assembly
issues related to electronic
products and peripherals;
• The impact of lifespan issues, such
as the increasingly shorter lifecycles of electronic products and their
peripherals;
• Methodology used by industry when
collecting and processing Waste IT;
The United States and the European
Community have generated significant amounts of data on the increasing creation
of electrical and electronic waste and associated toxins.
A significant area of focus is on the
supply side of the problem, including how the manufacturers and retailers and
users of new electronic products and peripherals contribute to growing volumes of waste in toxic and non-toxic
forms.
There is also a need to
review the incidence of potentially hazardous substances used in the
manufacture of electronic products. The
substances of most concern include cadmium, lead, mercury and flame-retardants.
Regulatory Issues
• A comprehensive review of the
existing regulatory framework as it
applies to Waste IT and its
components;
• Environmental
policies affecting Waste IT
The policies, regulations and laws of Canada’s
trading partners will directly affect its waste IT situation. There is a sophisticated regime of regulation
and environmental law in the EU that deals specifically with waste IT
issues. The United States and other countries
are also developing bodies of regulation to
manage waste IT. Canada imports
and exports products that ultimately become waste. These factors
combine to create a complex set of
relationships between Canada’s
issues and its commitments to other
nations.
The Government of Canada will be reviewing
the international agreements Canada is party to,
such as the Basel Convention, NAFTA and the impact they will have on domestic
guidelines.
As well as reviewing the existing
infrastructure, we need to
understand the larger regulatory
environment and any planned or proposed changes, in light of international
commitments. Factors
that need to be considered include:
• The
need for global regulatory harmony;
• The leadership shown by the
electronics industry with respect to
ESM issues;
• The
sources of the products that ultimately become waste IT in Canada;
• Multi
jurisdictional issues
• Incentives
to move the costs of waste IT to consumers rather than the general community
Logistical Issues
• A review of the logistical issues
surrounding the creation, disposition, recycling import and export of Waste IT;
Product lifecycles play an important role
in the creation of IT waste. There is a
trend towards shorter useful lives
of electronic equipment, particularly PC’s and cell phones. Other issues will include the movement of
material, manufacturing practices and the disposal or recycling of products and
the industry’s ability to cope with
the toxic and non-toxic elements of waste IT.
Environmental Issues
• Environmental
Issues related to the management of
Waste IT
• Existing environmental controls in Canada, the US,
UK,
EU, as well as relevant international agreements.
The Government is considering each of the
above issues from the perspectives of a wide range of stakeholders, including:
- Federal,
provincial, territorial and
municipal governments in Canada
- Federal
and state governments in the United
States
- Governments
in the United Kingdom
and European Union
- Environmental
advocates
- Equipment
manufacturers
- Industry
associations
- Community
associations
- Waste
management and recycling industry representatives
- Electronics
retailers and
- Non-Governmental
Organizations
Electronic equipment contains materials
which are potentially harmful to
people and the environment if not disposed of properly. There are many industry participants who have
already established their own targets for reducing waste in their products
lifecycle. They are pursuing these goals
through changes in the manufacturing processes and increasing recycling
opportunities at the back end. Various
levels of government have also established or are drafting ESM policies.
Web Based Resources
The following are a sample of websites that
offer very useful information on this topic.
Canada
www.ec.gc.ca Environment
Canada
www.ceia-acie.ca
Canadian
Environment Industry Association
www.rcbc.bc.ca Recycling
Council of British Columbia
www.retrosystems.com RetroSystems
www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/ CBC News, Marketplace
United States
www.epa.gov
U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
www.bna.com BNA
www.svtc.org Silicon
Valley Toxics Coalition
European
Union
www.eeb.org
European
Environmental Bureau
www.cordis.lu Community Research and Development
Information Service
www.nortelnetworks.com
Nortel
www.iee.org The
Institute of Electrical Engineers
United Kingdom
www.brother.co.uk
Brother
www.lead-free.org
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