Going green

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This was published 17 years ago

Going green

By ADAM TURNER

MANY of us have embraced conserving water and recycling plastic as ways to save the environment, but it still ain't easy being green when it comes to disposing of old computers. With Christmas here and sales just around the corner, plenty of computers are destined for the scrap heap.

It seems we have all come to accept the relative shortness of a computer's lifespan although we wouldn't dream of throwing away other expensive appliances every few years. If you see a TV, fridge or dishwasher on the nature strip you know it's probably given up the ghost after many years of service and a few repairs. But in the desire to own the latest and greatest computer on the market, it has somehow become unquestioned that they become obsolete more quickly than fridges.

Almost all the major computer companies release faster machines each year, and most people buy a new computer every three to five years on average, while enthusiasts and gamers upgrade more often.

Australians buy more than 2.4 million new computers each year and our amount of e-waste - discarded high-tech gear from screens and hard drives to printers - is outstripping everyday waste by three to one, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It estimates that 3.4 million computers were retired this year, of which half ended up in landfill. And the problem will only get worse, with 4.5 million computers expected to be replaced next year.

Unfortunately, the problems don't stop when they end up in landfill. Computers contain a cocktail of nasty substances including lead, zinc, nickel, cadmium and mercury. Monitors and TV picture tubes contain an average of two kilograms of lead and take thousands of years to fully decompose. Needless to say, these units slowly leak their poisonous contents into the environment.

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In July, the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive came into effect for new computers and in January it will be tightened to impose strict regulations on the disposal of electrical and electronic equipment.

There are no such laws in Australia, apart from the ACT's ban on the disposal of CRT monitors in landfill by government and businesses. The Federal Government may consider e-waste legislation next year after proposals by the Department of the Environment and Heritage are released.

But back at consumer level, there are things we can do rather than leave our old computers at the tip. Perhaps Nanna might want to email her grandchildren, which doesn't need the latest technology. Most students need to type their assignments these days, and even a 10-year-old computer and printer can perform simple word processing.

If you're set on buying a new computer and no one wants the old one, see what you can salvage from it. Chances are the monitor, keyboard and mouse are still OK, along with peripherals such as printers and scanners. If you don't need the latest and greatest, consider buying a refurbished or second-hand computer. Something with a 1.6 GHz processor, 32 MB graphics card and 512 MB of RAM should be enough to handle day-to-day tasks, even running on Windows XP.

The advantage of buying a refurbished or second-hand computer from a shop rather than on a website such as eBay is that the machines usually come with at least a three-month warranty. The downside is that you can't expect the kind of ongoing customer service supplied by shops selling new machines.

If your old computer still goes but runs a bit sluggishly, there's plenty to try before you throw it away. A simple spring-clean can make the world of difference. Ditch any unused applications and run anti-virus and spyware software to remove any nasties lurking on the computer. If that doesn't do the job, you could give the computer a heart transplant. Just spending $100 on extra memory can give an old computer a significant boost in speed. And a new motherboard, processor, graphics card and memory will make your old computer feel like a whole new machine.

Many computer shops sell PC makeover kits for less than $500 and for a few dollars more will do the job for you if you're not comfortable popping the bonnet. A good computer shop should be able to advise you on how much it's worth spending on an old PC, although something more than five years old may be beyond saving, depending on what you need it for. Make sure you tell staff what you want the computer to do and ask about options such as discontinued or refurbished parts.

Remember that a computer shop is more likely to present you with options to suit your needs and budget, whereas a discount appliance store is more likely to just try to sell you a new computer.

New versions of software that are larger and greedier than the ones before are standard issue these days. And it's one of the engines driving the extraordinary proliferation of computer models, often referred to as model churn.

Every version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, for example, is more demanding than the last, often forcing users to buy a new computer just to keep up.

But there are options that need less hard disk space. Linux is a free, open-source alternative to Windows that will happily run on older computers that struggle to run XP or Vista. Linux comes in many versions but it usually has the look and feel of Windows.

"A PC that is a few years old may not have a lot of memory or grunt but it's often still fine running Linux for basic things like email and web browsing," says Steven D'Aprano, operations manager with Cybersource, a company that helps businesses get the most from open-source software.

Mr D'Aprano recommends beginners stick with Red Hat's Fedora version of Linux (fedora.redhat.com) or Ubuntu (ubuntu.com). You can download them from the internet but they're often included on the cover discs offered free with computer magazines.

To further reduce the load on a groaning computer, Mr D'Aprano suggests combining Linux with the AbiWord word processor (www.abisource.com) and Opera web browser (opera.com), both specifically designed to run well on slower computers.

If the thought of abandoning Windows for Linux is daunting, both Fedora and Ubuntu are available in "Live CD" versions, meaning you can start your machine in Linux mode without having to make changes to your computer.

"There's obviously a slight performance hit because it's running from a CD, but it will give you an idea of what Linux is like without having to delete Windows," Mr D'Aprano says. "The beauty is once you remove the CD and restart the computer everything is back as it was, no harm done."

If you decide that not even Linux could revive your ageing computer, there are people prepared to take it off your hands, fix it up and give it to those in need.

The Training and Employment Services Australia (TESA) Computer Recycling program is a Work for the Dole scheme. It trains people to build and repair computers using donated machines. The computers are loaded with Linux and donated to welfare groups and charities such as St Vincent de Paul.

TESA will collect loads of more than 10 computers from anywhere in Melbourne, but single computers can be dropped off at nine collection sites across the city. Call 9899 5666 for details.

"We take anything, it doesn't matter how old it is," project supervisor Steve Murphy says. "We get more computers from businesses than individuals, but that's starting to change."

Computerbank Victoria also refurbishes old computers and donates or sells them to disadvantaged people and community groups in Australia and overseas. It charges from $30 for a Pentium III 650 MHz with a three-month warranty and support plus free training. They can be contacted on 9600 9161 or at vic.computerbank.org.au

Setting the minimum specs at a Pentium III 500 MHz, Computerbank Victoria receives about 250 donated computers a month, of which about 50 are refurbished and the rest recycled.

The reborn computers have been sent as far as Indonesia, East Timor, Cambodia and Uganda, says Computerbank Victoria president Kylie Davies. "We load the computers up with Linux and lots of open-source software such as word processors and spreadsheets - everything they need to get going," she says.

When disposing of old computers, most people don't realise that deleting files and even reformatting the hard drive does not completely remove personal information such as bank accounts, finances and account numbers, which can all be easily recovered. To protect against this, Computerbank Victoria uses the DBAN - Darik's Boot and Nuke tool (www.dban.sourceforge.net) - to run a "triple-wipe" process. The entire hard drive is overwritten with 0s, then with 1s, then with random 0s and 1s - after which you can install a new operating system. DBAN is a free download, small enough to fit on a floppy disk, which anyone can use to wipe a hard drive before giving it away. After that point it would take expensive and professional data recovery tools to even attempt to extract any information from that hard drive, Ms Davies says.

"If the hard drive is dead and can't be wiped, then we hit it with a mallet to be sure before it's sent to be recycled," she says.

The free auction site FreeCycle (freecycle.org) is another good place to try if you're happy to give away your old computer - or anything else that someone might find useful. There are 26 FreeCycle groups in Victoria with about 23,000 members.

Even computers that are truly beyond repair need not end up as landfill. Planet Ark maintains a long list of computer recyclers in every Victorian municipality at recyclingnearyou.com.au

Computer manufacturers are also getting in on the act, with Dell (www.dell.com.au/recycle), IBM (www-03.ibm.com/financing/au/gars/recycle) and Hewlett-Packard (hp.com.au/recycle/supplies) running regular recycling drives. Dell has accepted more than 170 tonnes of equipment - both Dell and non-Dell systems - since February.

According to Dell, the equipment recovered had generally reached the end of its "useful life". Three-quarters of the computers gathered in Sydney dated from the 1990s or earlier and, of those, 10 per cent were from the 1970s and 1980s.

Hewlett-Packard says it has collected 284 tonnes of old equipment in the past 12 months and will extend its Victorian recycling scheme to the rest of Australia.

"Useful life" is a subjective term when it comes to computers, especially considering that it is in the interests of computer manufacturers to see computers and printer cartridges recycled rather than reused. Geelong's PC Graveyard (5275 8835 or pcgraveyard.com.au) salvages computers for spare parts, using them to build cheap computers and keep old computers on the road while recycling the rest.

"We're a bit like a car wrecker's. People come in looking for hard-to-find parts," PC Graveyard owner Aaron Regan says. "By donating to us you're keeping other equipment running and therefore out of landfill. A lot of our customers are pensioners who can't afford to buy a new computer every year or two. They just need to keep their old machine running. A $50 part might keep a computer running for a few more years."

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