A report from Computer Aid International calls for IT manufacturers to take full responsibility for the environmental cost of their products.
The paper, called “Green ICT: what producers must do”, says IT manufacturers should take environmental responsibility for their products throughout their entire lifecycle, including the end-of-life management of their goods, in all countries they operate and “not just in rich developed countries”.
Computer Aid refurbishes donated computer equipment and ships it to poorer countries for re-use.
Tony Roberts, CEO of Computer Aid International, said: “In Europe all ICT manufacturers, including HP, Samsung, Nokia and Apple, have a legal duty to fund the end-of-life-recycling of equipment that they produced. However, we would argue that they have exactly the same moral obligations where their products are sold in Africa, Asia and elsewhere.”
The report points out that most developing countries do not have the facilities necessary to recycle ICT hardware or recover precious metals and other composite materials before they pollute the environment and threaten public health and safety.
Therefore, the report recommends that Europe’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) principle should be extended globally.
The report says:
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