Sunday 5 May 2013

IBM : Addressing Electronic Waste

With rapidly changing technology, electronics are becoming obsolete in shorter periods of time. The U.S. alone discards about 30 million computers each year.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that only about 15-20% of these computers are recycled, with the remainder disposed of into landfills. 

 While IBM is known for being a leading manufacturer of IT equipment, it is also leading the way in computer disposal and refurbishing, and has been involved in some element of computer take-back for close to 30 years.  In 2012, IBM processed over 750,00 units of recycled IT equipment, of which 250,000 were laptops.  They remanufactured almost 67.7 million pounds of equipment.  Of all the equipment processed, 99.6% of it was reused, preventing it from going into landfills.  


In addition to re-manufacturing and certifying equipment, IBM Global Asset Recovery Services handles complete removal and dismantling of unwanted or end-of-life IT products.  Each week, IBM Global Asset Recovery Services takes in more than 40,000 pieces of IT gear from clients worldwide. The equipment, which includes IBM and non-IBM servers, PCs, laptops, mainframes, is recycled or refurbished at 22 sites around the world, Including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, the United States, and China, helping reduce the impact of e-waste by extending the life of older IT equipment that would otherwise go to landfills

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