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IBM global recycling efforts of a world player
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IBM has certainly not trailed behind in green initiatives. At the start of this decade, IBM has been recycling computer products in the United States. Components that were reusable were recycled in an “environmentally responsible manner,” (IBM Press Release Jan 18, 2001) whereas computers that were still usable as a whole were donated to Gifts in Kind International, a coordinator of product philanthropy of nonprofit organizations. Consumers were given an incentive — in the form of possible deductions on their annual tax returns — for sending outdated machines.
This move is largely in part due to the increasing concerns of various environmental advocacy organizations about the alarming rate of electronic-related waste that is being churned out annually by large companies.
In 1999, the company recycled over 54 million kilograms of computers and computer components.
In 2003, IBM’s centers processed more than 22,000 machines weekly and marketed more than $1.5 billion of used equipment.
In 2004, the company expanded its Assets Recovery Program worldwide. The regions this initiative encompasses are the Middle-East, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and Europe. According to the conditions stated in the program, the company will pay for the consumers’ outdated equipment or will sell the returned machines and/or components to a secondary market for them.
This eco-friendly drive also doubles as an awareness campaign for consumers to make them realize that obsolete equipment can still be reprocessed and/or immediately reused.
The company can buyback and/or recycle 1 to 250 items and has provided online means for interested consumers to get a quote. Even items manufactured by the company’s competitors are accepted.
The company’s website has provided a list of which IBM and Non-IBM systems are qualified for recycling. These include:
• “Notebooks – Intel Pentium processors less than 266 MHz and Intel Celeron processors less than 400 MHz
• Desktops – Intel Pentium processors less than 733 MHz and Intel Celeron processors less than 933 MHz
• Intel servers – Intel Pentium processors less than 700 MHz
• Other servers – UNIX and mainframe servers generally 3 years of age and greater, midrange servers from all manufacturers including IBM, Sun, HP, and Compaq
• Storage systems – Disk and tape storage systems generally 3 years of age or greater from all manufacturers including IBM, HP, Compaq, and EMC
• Printers – Laser printers – less than 8 pages per minute
• Monitors – Flat panel less than 14″”
All sorts of establishments, even one-person shops, are eligible for this Asset Recovery program.
If the equipment and components have no marketable value, the company scraps them in accordance with stringent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines.
A common and pressing concern of consumers and companies about the whole recycling systems is the security of their data. IBM answers this by offering their “3x Overwrite Service,” which irreversibly erases sensitive data using Department of Defense (DoD) 5220-22-M three-pass standards. Additional overwriting will require additional fees and the company can provide an estimate of them. In the event that a sector of a storage device cannot be overwritten, the whole device will be physically destroyed.
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