About 50 million tons of electronic waste are generated worldwide every year. As everyone knows, the components needed to produce electronic equipment include materials that have an impact on our environment and on human health.
The traditional linear economy has therefore become subject to criticism in an industry that has long been content to take, make and sell. That being said, over the past several years, many leaders in the computer industry have changed their ways of thinking and doing things by setting up reuse centres and upgrading their obsolete equipment.
For example, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) operates its own reuse centres in North America and Europe, which refurbish nearly 90% of the equipment they sell, from the most sophisticated data centre equipment to laptops (see photo).
This incredible statistic is worth noting, considering that good news about the recycling of electronic equipment is rather rare these days.
Bernard Risi