VideoBy the time your company's computers are ready for the scrap heap, they aren't just worthless, they're liabilities. Businesses spend about $30 to retire an out-of-date PC, according to figures compiled by technology research firm Gartner. Add to that the cost of backing up and "sanitizing" (that is, erasing) each machine's hard drive and the administrative expenses associated with selling, donating, trading in, or recycling a system, and the final bill may be double or even triple that figure.
Yet companies may one day look back on 2006 as a time when they could dispose of so-called E-waste relatively cheaply and easily. That's because proposed legislation, as well as a growing list of rules and regulations, promise to drive the cost of dumping E-waste—including PCs, printers, copiers, and phone systems—much higher in the years ahead.
While Europe and many Asian countries have national laws that govern E-waste, the United States does not. Not yet, anyway. Congress is currently considering at least four bills that address tech trash. Two of the measures, the Computer Hazardous Waste Infrastructure Program Act and the National Computer Recycling Act, would impose a recycling fee of up to $10 on PC and monitor sales. Another bill, the Electronic Waste Recycling Promotion and Consumer Protection Act, would ban from landfills all electronic devices with display screens measuring more than four inches, but create tax incentives to encourage businesses and consumers to recycle those products. Finally, the Tax Incentives to Encourage Recycling Act would give consumers tax credits for recycling electronic products through manufacturer-developed programs.
While Congress debates these bills, many states and municipalities have already enacted increasingly stringent E-waste laws, some of which impose heavy fines and other penalties on companies that flout recycling and disposal requirements. The impact of these widely varying mandates is particularly hard on businesses that operate in multiple states.
In addition to current and pending laws, businesses also risk violating various regulatory mandates. The Federal Solid and Hazardous Waste Regulations, for example, prevent most E-waste from being simply thrown out or sent to regular recycling centers. The guidelines make it the disposer's responsibility to discover whether or not a product contains any landfill-polluting toxic components — information that's not readily disclosed by equipment manufacturers. Gartner points out that penalties specified in both the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act could be levied if discarded PCs were found to house customer or patient data.
Frances O'Brien, vice president of research at Gartner IT, says this regulatory patchwork exacts a toll, yet many companies remain unaware of their vulnerabilities. "There's a lot more risk out there than people are talking about, because much of it is getting settled out of court," she says. "I talk to clients every day that have been fined or are in the process of settling a fine."
Another way businesses run afoul of the law is by transferring E-waste to recyclers without fully assessing the equipment's functional condition. "If you do that, you are essentially contributing to what is called 'sham recycling' or 'sprinkling waste,'" says Jim O'Grady, director of technology, financial solutions, Americas, for Hewlett-Packard Financial Services. Such equipment often winds up in the hands of black marketers, which illegally send the gear to domestic or foreign landfills rather than legitimately recycling the products. "It can be tempting for some companies, but it's also a good way to get into trouble," he says. The Environmental Protection Agency will fine any company that fails to properly classify or dispose of its E-waste.
As a result, businesses are beginning to take the matter of E-waste disposal more seriously. "Our clients are becoming increasingly aware of the exposures relative to asset disposition," says Kathy Ferguson, business-unit executive at IBM Asset Recovery Solutions. "More are adopting corporate strategies to ensure that they're dispositioning their assets in an appropriate manner."
Perhaps just in time, given not only the number of laws coming into existence, but the number of gadgets. "We're just a wasteful society, and we throw away everything," says Paul Baum, president and CEO of PlanItroi, an E-waste recycling firm. As a result, the stream of old PCs and monitors is now being joined by obsolete cell phones, PDAs, servers, video projectors, telecom systems, and an array of other gear.
Many companies deal with the issue just as families do: by letting the stuff pile up. Gartner estimates that as many as one in three companies in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa stockpile E-waste in offices, warehouses, and other locations. "That may be an effective short-term tactic," says O'Brien, "but the costs build the longer you hold on to the equipment." Additionally, since stored gear must still be carried on the company's books, the inventory will continue to affect—often adversely—things like depreciation schedules and, potentially, PC software licenses. "'Out of sight, out of mind' doesn't apply here," says O'Brien. "Companies must view E-waste disposal as much more important than simply taking out the garbage."
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