How companies keep us buying new stuff, and how to recycle the rest
PC Magazine, Dec 28, 2012. “The reality is we don’t fix electronics anymore, we replace them.”
Fake Recycler Convicted of Criminal Charges for E-Waste Exporting
Dec 21, 2012. A federal court in Colorado today convicted the executives of Executive Recycling in Colorado of multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, obstruction and environmental crimes related to illegally disposing electronic waste and smuggling.
Recyclers Stockpiling Millions of Pounds of Toxic Glass From CRT TVs and Monitors
“…instead of actually sending the toxic leaded CRT glass to proper glass processors, they simply stored this glass on their property or other locations.”
Toshiba – Please Resist Those Cease and Desist Letters
Come on, Toshiba. Show us that you actually mean the words in your Environment Vision 2050 statement, and publish your repair manuals on your own website.
EPA’s voluntary program for “safe management of used electronics” won’t prevent unsafe e-waste exports to developing countries
Sept 20, 2012. While the EPA’s press announcement today called for “Safe Management of Used Electronics,” exporting e-waste to developing countries is anything BUT safe – at least for the workers and residents near the locations where crude, dangerous, “informal” processing occurs.
New Ultrabooks – Ultra Inconvenient if You Need a New Battery
Aug 15, 2012. “While Apple loyalists are accustomed to having to go back to Apple for new batteries (and they have stores that do this while you wait), this will be a brand new inconvenience for most PC laptop users.” Read the new ETBC report on ultrabooks.
Why Gadget Repairability Is So Damn Important
Treehugger, July 19, 2012. “If you can’t open it, you don’t own it. When we can’t even get past the “Will Void Warranty” stickers, then we are simply leasing a device until we buy the next new model.”
Recyclers disagree on impact of glued-in Retina MacBook Pro batteries
July 18, 2012: “…an internal memo sent to AppleCare and certified third-party technicians claims that the battery should not be removed from the aluminum casing “for any reason.”
How did the new MacBook Pros get Gold-level green ratings?
Fortune Magazine, July 14, 2012. But having extricated itself from one environmental cow pie, the company may have stepped right into another.
Apple rejoins EPEAT, admits quitting was a mistake
We are astonished: Apple claims laptops with glued in battery meet EPEAT standards