Computer Buying Guide
A quick guide to strategic product selection
Using Eco-rate to find a new computer
We’ve done the research for you! Simply select the computer with the highest “Average Eco-rating”. This is the product that scores best in terms of environmental impact, energy consumption, toxicity, lifecycle cost and price. In particular, look for products that are EPEAT registered; these are ENERGY STAR qualified, least toxic and are manufactured responsibly. Click here to view more details of how we rate computers.
What is EPEAT?
The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is a system designed to help you evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes. Eco-rate uses EPEAT criteria to assign computer manufacturer's with environmental stewardship points (a key criteria for our Environmental Impact Ratings for Computers) and to assign computer products their Toxicity Ratings. EPEAT criteria is divided into 8 categories:
- Reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive materials
- Materials selection
- Design for end of life
- Product longevity/life cycle extension
- Energy conservation
- End of life management
- Corporate performance
- Packaging
To view a more detailed version of EPEAT criteria, please click here.
Energy efficiency: maximize your computer's performance
- Turn your computer OFF: the most effective way to save energy with your computer is to turn it OFF when not in use. Energy loss by computers that are in standby mode is significant. The small surge of power used when a computer is turned on is vastly smaller than the energy used when a device is left on at all times.
- Disable screen savers: more than half of the energy use of a desktop computer system is attributable to the monitor. A common misconception is that screen savers save energy. However, a screen saver will not only draw power for the monitor but will also keep the CPU from shutting down. Save energy by turning off monitors at all times the machine is not in use and discourage the use of screen savers.
- Activate power management tools: the power management capability places the computer and monitor in sleep mode when not in use. While in this mode, computers consume up to 90% less electricity than when fully operational, and remain available essentially on demand (i.e. the system does not have to be rebooted). A simple touch of any key on the keyboard or movement of the mouse is enough to bring computers out of their sleep mode.
- Use laptops: the most energy efficient computer/monitor combination is a laptop unit. Laptops use a maximum of 15 watts (compared with 80 to 160 watts for desktop PCs) and automatically go into sleep mode after several minutes of inactivity.
Environmental impacts of computer electronics
The downside to the electronic boom is the steadily increasing stream of electronic waste (e-waste) generated as a result of the mass consumption of electronics like computers and cell phones. Part of the reason why the disposal rate of electronics has grown astronomically over the last decade has to do with what experts call "planned obsolescence." That is, some electronics, especially computers and cell phones, are designed to be disposed of within a relatively short period of time, forcing the consumer to make additional electronic purchases every couple of years. In fact, the average lifespan of computers in developed countries has dropped from 6 years in 1997 to just 2 years in 2005. While this may be good for the manufacturer’s earnings, it is destructive to the environment and the consumer. Visit the Basel Action Network's website for more information.
Why is e-waste bad?
While electronic products do not cause harm to their end-users (the consumer), those who are responsible for manufacturing and then dismantling and recycling them after they are disposed of, are exposed to highly toxic levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. These toxins not only adversely affect the humans that are exposed to them, but they also negatively affect global air quality.
Moreover, e-waste is difficult to dispose of, especially in the quantities that are generated today. E-waste either ends-up in a landfill, where its chemicals are leached into soils; or it is burned, the process of which releases extremely dangerous toxins into the air.
What is being done to mitigate e-waste amounts and toxicity?
To mitigate the amounts and toxicity of e-waste, organizations around the world are banning the use of high levels of the toxins mentioned above in electronic products. In 2006, the European Union (EU) enforced the ROHS Directive which bans placing electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, etc.
Also enforced by the EU in 2006 was the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, which requires manufacturers to take back their electronic products after their useful life (other countries including Japan, Taiwan and Korea have taken similar action). Also known as "take-back programs", these measures force designers to plan the construction of products in such a way that make the reuse and recycling of them more cost-effective for the manufacturer. It also forces designers to find ways around the implementation of toxic chemicals in a product’s construction. Ultimately, when manufacturers are required to take back their e-waste, they make better products, with longer life spans and with less toxic material.
Unfortunately, the United States is still far behind the EU and other aforementioned countries in this respect. Only recently (August 2008) has the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report acknowledging the need for reform. Nothing has moved through Congress to date however.
Do you have a choice/voice?
Yes! You can use Eco-rate to identify the best product available on the market from the most responsible manufacturers on the market. Our Environmental Impact and Toxicity Ratings for computers take into account how well a computer's manufacturer abides by the EPEAT program. By purchasing from manufacturer's who take the e-waste dillema seriously, you are helping to positively transform the electronic consumer product industry.
Disposal of your old computer
Even more important than responsibly purchasing and then maximizing the energy usage of your computer is the consideration of the environmental impacts associated with the disposal of it. Computers contain some of the most toxic substances known to man: mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, beryllium, and brominated flame retardants, among others. When this equipment becomes waste, it is toxic waste. When burned, even worse toxins can be formed such as dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that can cause cancer and birth-defects.
Background
Every year, an estimated 400 million units of obsolete electronics, including computeres, are scrapped. Four billion pounds of e-waste was discarded in the United States in 2005, accounting for between 2% and 4% of the municipal solid waste stream. As much as 87.5% of this was incinerated or dumped in landfills. Of the remaining 12.5% collected for “recycling,” industry sources claim that about 80% is exported to developing countries where it is processed in unregulated conditions, severely endangering the environment, workers and communities. Pollution created by irresponsible e-waste processing can also come back to haunt those in the exporting countries in the form of air pollution fallout via long-range transport.
e-Stewards
The e-Stewards recyclers are a group of leading North American electronics recyclers and asset managers who have been qualified as upholding the highest standard of environmental and social responsibility. We urge you to make use of these recyclers for all of your e-waste disposal and recycling needs and beware other recyclers claiming to be “green” and responsible.
Dispose of your computer responsibly by contacting an organization near you that has signed the Electronic Recycler's Pledge of True Stewardship commitment. Click here to view the list.
Questions? Feedback?
Visit our Forum to ask questions and share your thoughts about less-toxic, more energy-efficient, longer-lasting computer products.
