The 22" LG W2242S LCD monitor
Current Environmental Impacts
Recently I bought a new monitor: the LG W2242S. Apart from the higher picture quality the main reason I wanted an LCD monitor was because I believed they were more environmentally friendly in comparison to CRTs (see appendix A to see what chemicals CRTs contain). Although I had not considered the production process, Gache (2008, para 4) states: “4,000 metric tons of nitrous tri-fluoride compound are used every year in the production of LCDs and semiconductors, an amount that is likely to double in just over a year”; nitrous tri-fluoride has a global warming potential of 17,200 times greater than that of CO2 when compared over a 100 year period ("Nitrogen trifluoride", para 11). So perhaps LCDs are not as green as I have first perceived.
Design Principles for Reuse
In order to reduce the environmental impacts, I will discuss how "maintaining independence of functional requirements" can be used in conjunction with take-back policies. A lot of work Greenpeace is doing at the moment is pressurizing electronic companies to improve on their end of product-life services. In February this year, Phillips made substantial changes to their policies after it received severe pressure from the environment-conscious movement according to the article, "VICTORY! Philips accepts recycling responsibility" (Greenpeace, 2009).
The article, and in the recycling program Phillips discusses
recycling (Koninklijke Philips Electronics, n.d.). Personally, I think to recycle at end of the product-life is a
bad idea, e.g. when we dispose of an electrical item, how much of it is actually broken? My monitor will sit on my table its entire life. When the day comes to replace it I can almost guarantee that
at least the plastic casing will still be usable. The waste hierarchy diagram, shown below (Waste Online, 2006), shows which methods of waste management techniques are preferred. As it can be seen,
reuse is favored above
recycling; yes, the plastic could be recycled, but (focusing on PET plastic as an example) the Federal Office for the Environment claims that this still uses 40% of the energy required to make it from virgin materials ("PET recycling", para 2). Some PET recycling plants use 100,000 gallons of water a day (Ghelfi, C, 2008). Williams (2002, pp. 141-170) states that PVC emits HCL (Hydrochloric acid) by thermal decomposition which occurs at around 180-600 degrees Celsius and from Culbert and Christel, A (2003, pp. 177 - 178) we see PET begins to melt at approximately 260 degrees Celsius. Hence the recycling process will release Hydrochloric acid. Therefore even recycling has significant environmental impacts.
“Maintaining independence of functional requirements” should be used to allow a certain degree of cross compatibility into electronic products. I can appreciate why companies do not do this; products would be less technically advanced, and it would mean that they would have to know what the exact requirements of the future products will be. However, to highlight my point of why they should, look to the next two images:
Spot the difference
What you can see here is the new 22" W2261V monitor (left) compared against my older 22" W2242s monitor (right). Concentrating on the front panel, what has actually been change (apart from the colour)? You may see at the bottom right of the monitors the buttons have changed. If LG segregated the button panel then the entire front panel could have simply been reused. The new monitors could have used most of the casing from the older model.
Proof of integration
As proof that electronics reuse is feasible, The U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory "reused or recycled 143,600 pounds of electronics during fiscal year (FY) 2008, a period from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008". The site managed to "reused 37,200 pounds of electronic equipment" ranging from "desktop and laptop computers, cameras, printers, scanners and network servers" (Brookhaven National Laboratory, 2009).
Supply Chain Principle: Made to Order
LG could use a "made-to-order" supply chain policy to reduce their environmental impact. Dell uses this method and therefore has to maintain "only three days of inventory for most parts and equipment" (Dell, inc, n.d.). How can this be of benefit to LG? Looking at the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics, the only "bad" score (0 of out 3) LG received was in the category, "Amount of renewable energy used" ("Guide to Greener Electronics - LGE March 2009", 2009). Although overall, LG out-performs Dell, in this category Dell received a partially-good (2 out of 3) ("Guide to Greener Electronics - Dell March 2009", 2009). This score is determined by the
percentage of renewable energy used. Therefore, if LG reduced their
total energy consumption, by reducing the number of warehouses, then the percentage of renewable energy used would
increase. If they could match Dell, and move to a partially-good score, then LG would move from 6th position to 3rd (see appendix B for calculations).
My Final thoughts
I have attempted to highlight the benefits of reusing electronics as I feel this is the most sustainable method in which we can
continue to use products since electronics will always produce
some environmental impacts. This is indicated in the waste management hierarchy, the only solution that has no environmental impact is prevention i.e. make no electronics at all.
It is unclear the extent in which the major companies are attempting to reuse and it even appears Greenpeace has missed out this. It is understandable why companies would be apprehensive to reuse; additional complexity incorporating such strategies and fear that consumers may not buy products if they are not the latest specification. Electronic companies have been placed under a lot of pressure to clean up their acts, however, as consumers we must also take responsibility and make environment-beneficial decisions. We demand low-cost, high-tech products and the companies provide this at cost to the environment. Maybe it is time for society to appreciate its role in this, change its attitudes and give some incentive to the companies by supporting 'green'.
Finish.
Appendices
Appendix A: Whats inside a CRT display
"A big CRT can contain up to 2.2 kilograms of lead" (mainly added to the glass to improve optical quality and to shield against radiation) (
HowStuffWorks, Inc, 2009, para 2), as well as mercury, barium, cadmium and phosphorous[Recycle Comps, 2004, para 6) - whereas LCDs only have a few milligrams of mercury and typically uses 30 - 50% less power (French Energy Agency ADEME, n.d.).
Appendix B: Proof of moving LG from 6th to 3rd according to the Greenpeace guide
Position score = 10*(score/total points) therefore their current position was calculated by:
Position score = 10*(28/51) = 5.5 approximately, which can be seen on the Greenpeace website
Now, +2 to the total score indicating an improvement in using renewable energy equal to that of Dell. Therefore:
Position score = 10(30/51) = 5.9 approximately, which takes them to 3rd position below Nokia (7.5) and Samsung (6.9).
Bibliography
Web pages: General and Articles
Brookhaven National Laboratory. (2009). Pollution Prevention: Reuse and Recycling Electronic Equipment. Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://www.bnl.gov/ewms/pollutionpreve/Electronics.asp
Dell, inc. (n.d.). Environment: Manufacturing and Operations at Dell. Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/environment/en/mfg_ops_main?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs
Federal Office for the Environment. (2007). PET recycling. Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://www.bafu.admin.ch/abfall/01495/01498/01503/index.html?lang=en#sprungmarke3_14
French Energy Agency ADEME. (n.d.). CRT vs LCD monitor. Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://www.eu-energystar.org/en/en_023b.shtml
Gache, G. (2008). Out with the Carbon Dioxide, In with Nitrogen Trifluoride. Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Carbon-Dioxide-Out-In-With-Nitrogen-Trifluoride-89414.shtml
Ghelfi, C. (2008). The dirty little secret of plastic recycling. Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://cleantech.com/news/2973/waterless-recycling-eco2-plastics-honeywell
Greenpeace. (2009). VICTORY! Philips accepts recycling responsibility. Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/victory-philips260209
Greenpeace. (2009). Guide to Greener Electronics - LGE March 2009. Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/lge-guide-to-greener-electronics-11
Greenpeace. (2009). Guide to Greener Electronics - Dell March 2009. Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/dell-guide-to-greener-electronics-11
HowStuffWorks, Inc. (n.d.). Why do CRT monitors contain lead? Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question678.htm
Koninklijke Philips Electronics. (n.d.). Our Recycling Program. Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://www.philips.com/about/sustainability/recycling/ourrecyclingprogram/index.page
Recycle Comps. (2004). Recycling used computer monitors. Retrieved May 18th, 2009, from
http://www.recyclecomps.com/
Waste Online. (2006). After it's been binned. Retrieved May 19th, 2009, from
http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/WasteDisposal.htm
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Nitrogen trifluoride. Retrieved May 18th, 2009,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_trifluoride
Books: Chapter in an edited book
Culbert, B & Christel, A. (2003). SSP of Poly(Ethylene Naphthalate). In John Scheirs, Timothy E. Long (Eds.), Modern polyesters (pp. 177 - 178). University of Michigan: John Wiley & Sons.
Williams, P.T. (2002). Emissions from Solid Waste Management Activities. In R. E. Hester & R. M Harrison (Eds.), Environmental and Health Impact of Solid Waste Management Activities (pp. 141-170). Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry.
