The government should step in to give businesses
incentives to re-deploy their old IT equipment, a charity said this
week.
Computer Aid
International, which provides refurbished computers to
developing countries, said that although many companies recycle
components and materials in their computers, reusing them is far
more energy-efficient.
"There is such a massive demand in Africa and South America from
schools and hospitals for equipment, while we in the UK are getting
rid of millions of computers every year and only a tiny minority is
being responsibly reused. We would like to see the government
create more incentives for companies to reuse their equipment in
this way," said
Anja Ffrench, director of marketing and communucations,
speaking in a video debate for the British Computer Society (watch
video below).
Around 75% of a PC's lifetime energy use is consumed in its
manufacture, making it more energy-efficient to reuse rather than
recycle, the video claims.
Kate Craig-Wood,
managing director of green hosting company Memset and a member of
the BCS Data Centre Specialist Group, said there was a financial
incentive for companies to use their IT equipment efficiently.
"Everything is being pushed back to the datacentre, and in that
market the people with the lowest costs will win, and the people
with the lowest costs will be the people who use their equipment
most efficiently."
IT departments can convert PCs into thin clients to extend the
life of their machines, and could consider donating old machines to
organisations in the developing world, the BCS said.