The Complexity of the E-waste Problem

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The Complexity of the E-waste Problem
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The e-waste problem
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The e-waste problem
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The best way to deal with e-waste is
avoid (or at least minimize) it!

• From the manufacturing phase through
• E-waste conscious design
• Avoid use of heavy pollutants
• Minimization on the use of resources
• Regulations and standards
• During the life of equipment
• Prolonging its lifetime
• Designing for reuse/multiple use
• At end of life
• Designing for easy disassembly

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Avoid/minimize through standardization

• Environmentally conscious companies have e-waste
  minimization programmes in place but
• Such programmes are difficult to set up and
  manage
• The extra cost can discourage them
• As individual companies they can have little
  impact
• Need to create critical mass and act soon
• Regulation is complex and takes long time
• The ICT Sector should move up
• Standardization can fill the gap and lead the
  market

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Avoid/minimize through standardization

• An example ? the external power supply (EPS)
• Market loudly demands for interoperable, reusable
  and longer life equipment
• Volume produced is enormous (gt4Billion/year)
• It is about 1 million tons of electronic equipment

• It could correspond to an 1000km queue of trucks
  full op EPSs

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Avoid/minimize through standardization

• The ITU/GeSI report An Energy-aware Survey on
  ICT Device Power Supplies gives relevant
  information on the problem and on the improvement
  opportunities

http//www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange/report-ict-
device.html
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Avoid/minimize through standardization

• Use of resources and evaluation of future e-waste
  can be based upon the weight of the EPSs

• Huge weight differences among same class EPSs
• Need and opportunity to improve

• Aligning them with the best (lightest) in the
  corresponding category could reduce the use of
  resources (and e-waste) by 300 thousand tons per
  year

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Avoid/minimize through standardization

• Availability of standardized EPSs would avoid
  unnecessary production of billions elements per
  year
• The report estimates potential e-waste reduction
  of 600 thousand tons per year
• Further reduction is expected as the
  Recommendation includes requirements on
• longer life duration
• electrical strength
• weight limits

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Avoid/minimize through standardization

• Environmental analysis
• Global Warming potential (GWP)

• EPSs of the same category have quite different
  GWP
• Another opportunity for improvement!

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Another example The ADSL access gateway (AG)

• From 2009, Telecom Italia established strict
  environmental requirements on AGs (market of
  millions pieces)
• Energy efficiency
• Recycled and recyclable plastics
• No use of blends
• No chlorinated
• No brominated
• Easy dismantling

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Work in progress

• Life cycle thinking is becoming common rule in
  companies and in standardization
• In 2011 ITU-T standardized the Universal mobile
  charger (L.1000)
• Standardization of External Power Supply for
  fixed equipment is advancing in ITU-T SG5
• Next meeting (and hopefully finalization ) next
  October in Geneva
• It will enable huge savings and e-waste avoidance
• The best way to deal with e-waste is
• avoid (or at least minimize) it!

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THANK YOU
flavio.cucchietti_at_telecomitalia.it Report
http//www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange/report-ict-
device.html