HP defended its efforts on Monday to curb e-waste ahead of a planned Greenpeace protest at its headquarters.
The environmental activist group plans to demonstrate at HP's headquarters in Palo Alto, California, on Tuesday to pressure the company into phasing out the use of potentially toxic materials in its products. Specifically, the group is demanding that HP set timelines for ridding its computers, printers and other electronics of brominated flame retardants and PVC.
The group has singled out HP because it's one of the largest PC manufacturers in the world, and its machines contain higher levels of hazardous materials, specifically a flame retardant known as TBBA, than rivals' devices, said Iza Kruszewska, a toxics campaigner for Greenpeace.
"Other companies have gone much further," Kruszewska said. "We'd expect [HP] to be more ahead of the game."
In rebuttal, HP executives said in a conference call on Monday the company has made strides in removing unwanted materials, including PVC, from its products. The company began removing ozone-depleting chemicals from its products and factories in the 1980s.
"There are technical barriers to removing this from our entire product line," said David Lear, HP vice-president of corporate, social and environmental responsibility. "You have to balance with science behind it and the costs."
Lear also cited the company's efforts to reduce e-waste through recycling obsolete gear. The company pledged last year to recycle one billion pounds (454,000 tonnes) of electronics by the end of 2007. Ironically, efforts at recycling have created new problems because of dangerous work conditions at many overseas recycling plants, according to Greenpeace. The group issued a report earlier this year condemning rampant environmental contamination and health hazards in places where obsolete electronic gear is disassembled and scavenged.
According to a UN Environment Program report, between 20 million and 50 million tons of e-waste is produced worldwide annually. In China alone, 4 million PCs are discarded each year, the report said.
The Greenpeace protest at HP follows several other such demonstrations. The group delivered a truckload of waste at HP's offices in Geneva in May, calling the company a "toxic tech giant", according to reports. Last year, Greenpeace Netherlands blocked the entrance to HP's Dutch offices in the city of Utrecht over its use of TBBA.
