Greenpeace has attacked HP for using toxic chemicals in the
production of PCs.
In California, US, staff at HP's global headquarters were
greeted with the message "HP = Hazardous Products" painted on the
roof in large yellow letters and automated phone calls from actor
William Shatner, calling upon the company to phase-out the toxic
chemicals.
This protest follows similar demonstrations against HP at its
offices in China and Holland highlighting the continued presence of
toxic chemicals in HP products, Greenpeace said.
According to Greenpeace, earlier this year HP postponed its 2007
commitment to phase-out dangerous substances such as brominated
flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic(2)
from its computer products (excluding server and printer lines)
from 2009 to 2011.
"It's shameful that HP is continuing to put hazardous products
on the market, despite the promises it had made," said Casey
Harrell, Greenpeace International toxics campaigner. "Instead of
going back on its commitments, HP should be following the lead of
companies like Apple, which has led the sector in phasing out these
toxic chemicals."
Greenpeace has also
slammed games console makers Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony for
lagging behind the PC industry in cleaning up their console
production processes.
HP said on its
website, "We still use certain BFRs in printed-circuit boards
because suitable alternatives are not yet available."