Information communication technology (ICT) - its waste and consequences

Prasad, Poonam J.

doi:10.1504/ijetm.2012.049234

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Technological and business reasons for discarding ICT products include replacement by better and faster technologies, deterioration, or incompatibility with new software requirements, to name just a few [19][20][21]. Furthermore, products which are designed with a short life-span and the intention to convince consumers to frequent repurchases (planned obsolescence) [22] lead to discarding.…”

Section: State Of the Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Companies’ efforts towards reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery (4Rs) of e-waste

Krumay¹,

Brandtweiner²

2016

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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The e-waste pile is constantly increasing, 41.8 million tons e-waste was generated in 2014 and prognosis shows there will be further increases. On one hand, technological reasons for discarding electronic devices, such as life cycles of products is an explanation for e-waste. However, non-technological reasons like lifestyle-indicated rebuying or psychological obsolescence lead in addition to more and more replacement of electronic devices -especially mobile devicesbefore they have reached their end-of-life. Furthermore, products that are designed with short life spans with the intention of generating frequent repurchases (planned obsolescence) are supplementary drivers for the increase of the e-waste pile. Since companies nowadays depend highly on the usage of computers, they of course contribute to the e-waste generated by private users. In this paper, however, we specifically focus on companies' approach towards reducing, reusing, recycling and recovery (4Rs) of e-waste. Based on interviews with managers, responsible for companies' e-waste handling, we identify different approaches towards these 4Rs. As a result, we see that companies' approaches towards reduction of e-waste are mainly targeting towards prolonging the life spans of computers, driven by costs evolving from replacement. Reuse, however, is an issue which is shifted to partners and experts outside the companies. The same is true for recycling and refurbishment. We identified different categories of ICT products, which are replaced more likely before reaching end-of-life, in particular smartphones. Concerning peripheral ICT hardware (printers, projectors), other triggers, e.g. energy efficiency of newer devices or new technologies, dominate the reasons for replacement. Based on the so-gained insights, we depict the results in a matrix of the current approaches towards 4Rs of e-waste in business.

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Section: State Of the Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Companies’ efforts towards reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery (4Rs) of e-waste

Krumay¹,

Brandtweiner²

2016

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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show abstract

“…For instance, IBM attends to 38,000 pieces of used equipment each week and replaces 100,000 employee desktop computers annually (Kopytoff, 2013). Taking this to a global perspective, not only does the Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry account for an estimated 2% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the large volume of ICT waste potentially includes many hazardous materials, such as lead, cadmium, and mercury, that are toxic to our environment (Prasad, 2012). It is unfortunate for the world to witness the deterioration of our environment while realizing such e-waste generation is largely avoidable through responsible recycling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enterprise IT Asset Disposition: An Overview and Tutorial

Schiller¹,

Merhout²,

Sandlin³

2016

JMWAIS

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Enterprise IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) addresses the recovery and recycling of an enterprise's IT assets that are near or at the end of their lifecycle. The aim of ITAD is to maximize the value of investment over the IT asset's entire lifecycle while guaranteeing data security and protecting against environmental liability. Regulatory requirements mandate specific disposal methods for computing assets, and enterprises face significant risks if they fail to comply. Despite the critical importance of ITAD, many enterprises lack a clear understanding of ITAD and its regulations and struggle with the management of ITAD processes. One solution to this challenge is the ITAD service provided by third-parties that can deliver effective and proper disposition services, and more importantly help enterprises maximize the potential value recovered from IT assets. This tutorial defines ITAD processes, presents its key elements and the third-party practice of ITAD services in the United States, and discusses the most important ITAD regulatory compliance and accreditations related to corporate environmental sustainability. We also discuss the role of IT and information systems in ITAD processes and recommend a research agenda.

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The E-Waste-Privacy Challenge

Krumay

2016

Privacy Technologies and Policy

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Information communication technology (ICT) - its waste and consequences

Cited by 6 publications

References 13 publications

Companies’ efforts towards reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery (4Rs) of e-waste

Companies’ efforts towards reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery (4Rs) of e-waste

Enterprise IT Asset Disposition: An Overview and Tutorial

The E-Waste-Privacy Challenge

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