Saving The Planet – One Little Computer At A Time

Sept. 23, 2009 - PRLog -- Allan James, Managing Director of Renew I.T. - a Brisbane based second-hand or ‘renewed’ computer company - says that properly disassembling and recycling unwanted computer equipment can help to reduce the amount of natural resources used to manufacture new products, as well as prevent toxic substances like cadmium, lead and mercury from entering the environment.

“99 per cent of the material in discarded computer equipment is potentially recyclable or reusable,” says James.

“Many computers can be given a new lease of life by ensuring that simple maintenance work is carried out, such as defragmenting hard drives and removing temporary files that have accumulated. As well, most products these days can be upgraded by replacing one or two components, rather than adopting a ‘throw out and get a new one’ mentality. It’s really just a mind-set. Just because something has been used before doesn’t mean it’s flawed or defective. Once we’ve finished with it, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference in quality.”

The average life span of a computer was in 2005 estimated to be 2 years; a figure further decreasing as people rush to buy the new ‘best’ phone, computer, mp3 player and video game console available on the market. With computer technology ever-evolving and retailers forced to stick lower and lower price tags on their merchandise in order to stay competitive, old (and often still working) computers are fast becoming the highest form of e-waste the world over.

According to the most recent Census data, in Australia alone 1.6 million computers are dumped in landfill, 1.8 million sit gathering dust in storage and 5.3 million simply sitting around unused every year. Compare this with only 500,000 computers recycled annually.

Renew I.T. source top quality, commercial standard second-hand computers, and then totally recondition, rebuild, and reprogram them so that they are as good as brand new, but at a price less than half that of a brand new model. They also offer recycling options as part of their installation package, whereby they’ll remove your old computer and dispose of it responsibly for you, as well as offer a $50 rebate when customers bring their old computers to their Chermside store.

“We are committed to changing the current attitude towards second-hand computers in the minds of the public. Buying properly reconditioned products – not just computers but anything electronic - is simply the smarter option, both for the environment and your pocket.”

Another budding player in Brisbane’s fight against climate change, Zero Carbon Computing (ZCC), has introduced the world’s first computer carbon offset software, Little Green Genie. This state-of-the-art software calculates how much energy is being used by an individual computer and then uses this information to buy a proportionate amount of carbon credits to offset the energy expenditure.

For the average computer user, total carbon offsets will cost roughly ten dollars a year; a negligible amount in the life of the average person but a valuable sum when you consider the number of computers sold worldwide every year – in excess of 271 million.

With the combination of initial manufacture and energy used to run computers’ creating a carbon footprint as large as the global airline industry, ZCC maintain that creation of the software was a much needed step towards responsible climate change action.

“We think the public really feel a sense of duty to help offset carbon emissions, but many feel it can be too much of a hassle to really do anything,” says ZCC spokesman, Bruce Nelson.

According to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), an estimated 20 to 50 million tonnes of electronic waste is generated annually. If loaded on railway trucks, this amount of waste would produce a train that would stretch once around the world. Clearly, buying ten dollars worth of carbon credits when you buy your new Apple Mac isn’t going to solve this ever-more concerning global issue. But that doesn’t mean it won’t help.

Since their inception, carbon credits have been criticised by die-hard greenies as being a ‘scam’ for big businesses to capitalise on without actually translating into significant climate change. This is a stance refuted by environmental sustainability advocates, who maintain that while the first priority should always be reduced consumption, carbon credits are considered to be a valuable tool for aiding revegetation following years of deforestation, and for assisting the growth of the renewable energy sector in place of fossil fuel consumption.

For more information on ‘renewed’ computers or the Little Green Genie software visit renewit.com.au or littlegreengenie.com.