"Our first quarter results suggest the Y2K replacement cycle that vendors have been anticipating for more than a year is under way," says George Shiffler, principal analyst for Gartner's client platforms research.
The gargantuan volume of replacements in the coming months raises some "intriguing questions and dilemmas ... what, for example, will happen to all those replaced PCs?" asks the analyst group.
The impact of this much kit ending up in landfill sites has some environmental groups up in arms. The Fifth Annual Computer Report Card, issued in May by the US environmental organisation Silicon Valley Toxic Coalition (SVTC), claims that the number of obsolete machines in the US could be as a high as 600 million -- containing up to 1.2 billion pounds of lead.
"The health effects of lead on children are well known and just 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate 20 acres of lake," the report claims.
The group also estimates that about 40 percent of the heavy metals in landfills, including lead, mercury and cadmium, comes from discarded electronic devices. "Discarded computer and other consumer electronics (so called e-waste) is the fastest growing portion of our waste stream -- growing almost three times faster than our overall municipal waste stream," the report adds.
It may be a little late but legislators in Europe, and to a lesser extent in the US, are working hard to make it as costly and as difficult as possible for defunct PCs to simply be dumped on landfill, and are forcing vendors and customers to accept more responsibility for disposal and recycling.
The EU Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) directive will become law in the UK from August 2004 -- although it won't be properly enforced until 2006. The main aim of the legislation is to make manufacturers and consumers more responsible for the disposal of old machines.
Drive-up PC prices
Making vendors more responsible will increase their costs, and Gartner believes those costs will ultimately be passed on to end-user organisations. In a research note that Gartner issued earlier this year, entitled EU's New Recycling Rules could Drive-Up European PC Prices, the analyst group estimated that legal changes could add $60 to the price of PCs in Europe by 2005.
"From 2004, budgets should incorporate the costs of equipment disposal. From 2005, budgets should be allocated for a separate recycling fee. This will most likely be included in the purchase price of new PCs," said Gartner.
6%
1%
Interesting article. As a major insurance company we have a heap of old stuff that has been replaced / refreshed.
We pay a Melbourne computer company to remove our old stuff. They'll take old units away and dispose / recycle for charity / government crisis support type orgs.
They have a web.. www.aitalliance.com.au (??)
Started taking our junk away in less than a week.
Even made sure the HDD's were wiped.
James.