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Last month’s Greener Gadgets Conference, held in New York City, opened with an introduction by artist Chris Jordan, whose photographs focus on what he calls the “true scale of American consumption,” which he claims remains invisible to most of us even as we consume and throw things out all day long. Jordan tracks the amount of waste we are generating and photographs it in different categories. His photo “Circuit Boards” (right) looks like an alien landscape and depicts what the amount of circuit boards from the computers we dispose of looks like when put together. Jordan reminded attendees that 400 million electronic gadgets are scrapped each year; every day 130,000 computers are discarded, as well as 426,000 cell phones.
So what does all this talk about greener gadgets and consumer electronics technology and waste have to do with a column about green homes? The fact is, much of this waste is coming from homes, and a real green home dweller is not just worried about putting solar panels on the roof, using no-VOC paints, buying a fashionable Kirei board end table, and beefing up the insulation. “Green” homeowners do not have an out-of-sight, out-of-mind attitude about techno waste; they know many of these electronic items we have in our homes contain materials such as cadmium, lead, mercury, PVCs, and bromides. These materials wreak enviro-havoc if disposed of improperly. And much of it is now shipped off to poor countries like Nigeria where who knows what happens to it.
Luckily, the major players in the electronics industry are making serious efforts to clean up their act. They are producing objects that are not toxic to begin with, making them more energy efficient, and enabling consumers to dispose of whatever they buy in a socially responsible, sustainable way. Companies including Phillips, HP, Nokia, and Sony were all represented at Greener Gadgets, and from what they presented, the reps from these companies did not appear to be “green washing” about what they are up to. Corporate America is finally figuring out that trash is not garbage. If disposed of properly, it is valuable raw material that can be used for something else. “We misunderstand obsolescence. The materials that go into a product that becomes obsolete are still valuable materials. They are not obsolete,” says David Conrad, head of environment for Nokia North America. “What a great time to be in my role. What a great time to be involved with the environment.” But corporate America needs our help and cooperation to make techo-waste recycling be effective.
The leading electronics companies are adopting their own version of the “cradle-to-cradle” green business theory, which looks at every step in the manufacturing and selling chain to make sure we do not literally consume ourselves to death. They have agreed to take some of the responsibility for disposing of all the no-longer-necessary accoutrements of the consumer wonderland we choose to inhabit. We need to join the corporate green revolution.
All of the participants at Greener Gadgets seemed to be echoing the same thought: Green hi-tech is not about how to design and make things to sell, but how we design our entire lives. Green hi-tech is not simply a corporate life-cycle analysis of a product, but an analysis of our life cycle. We are the green gadgets. The cradle-to-cradle concept is not about products we consume in the end, it is about how manufactures and consumers act together with a conscience. Green home dwellers—green people working at corporations—are the heart of green hi-tech.
Valerie Casey founded the Designers Accord as a call to arms for product designers to reduce the negative environmental and social effects caused by design, and to work collaboratively to make a positive impact. Casey thought of the idea while she was on a plane heading to a meeting and realized that she did not want to design just “things” any more. On the plane she wrote a manifesto that she referred to as “The Kyoto Treaty of Design.” This treaty requires any designer who becomes part of the Designers Accord to speak with each client they work with about the environmental impact of what they want to produce and sell.
I suggest we all come up with our own ”Kyoto Treaty of Home Living,” where our homes are not just “things” with things in them. At Greener Gadgets, John Soloman, vice president and general manager of U.S. Consumer Business at HP, said “We can be an enabler and affect our industry as well as the rest of the world. Ignore the environment at your peril.”
For more on the Greener Gadgets Conference, visit greenergadgets.com or Inhabitat at www.inhabitat .com/2008/02/01greener-gadgets-liveblog/
Be Techno Green
Recycle old electronics. Find out how to best recycle them by calling the manufacturer. Most big companies have programs where they will take back the old product free of charge so they can coordinate its safe disposal. Don’t just bring it to a transfer station or dump it somewhere; manufacturers seek consumer support on this issue.
Learn to be responsible. www.MyGreenElectronics.org is an excellent resource if you are looking for the latest technology to replace your old gadgets and want to learn about responsible purchasing and disposal of electronics. With the site’s extensive electronics-recycling database, you can search by Zip code for where to dispose, and find more information including energy consumption of different electronic products.
Safely dispose of old cell phones and laptops. Check out MyBoneYard.com to find out how to recycle devices such as cell phones and laptops in an eco-friendly way. Their recycling program exceeds state standards and assures customers that products are stripped of any sensitive personal information, which is permanently deleted.
Remember to unplug. As much as 25 percent of home energy use is for consumer electronics such as computers, TVs, phones, and stereos. Pay attention to how much energy it takes to power the things you want to buy, and keep them unplugged when not in use.
Evaluate your usage. Research the energy efficiency of computers by using The Green Electronics Council’s EPEAT (The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, at greenelectronicscouncil.org/epeat/index.htm), which helps purchasers evaluate, compare, and select desktop and laptop computers, and monitors based on their environmental attributes, including energy efficiency.
Go solar. There is a whole wave of clever electronic chargers that utilize solar and wind power. Hymini (hymini.com) is a hand-held universal charger/adapter that harnesses wind and solar power (and conventional wall plug power) to recharge almost all your digital gadgets. Solio (solio.com), a hybrid solar charger, works with most mobile phones, MP3’s, and GPS’s.
