Electrical and electronic equipment
What are the problems?
Most types of electrical and
electronic equipment contain chemicals that are harmful to health
and the environment, though in varying quantities.
Some of the most dangerous
of these substances are toxic heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium
and lead. Button batteries, fluorescent lighting and low-energy
light bulbs are examples of products that contain mercury, and
rechargeable Ni-Cd batteries contain cadmium.
Many products contain flame
retardants, chemicals added to prevent them from catching fire. Some
of these, such as brominated flame retardants, are persistent and
can be harmful both to your health and to the environment.
What can you do?
Many products have a short life and cannot be repaired. It is better
to buy good-quality equipment that can be repaired if something goes
wrong.
Look for eco-labelled
products. The Nordic Swan system includes standards for computer
equipment, and products carrying the Swan may not contain brominated
flame retardants. Flame retardants that do not contain bromine are
available. However, there are as yet (autumn 2001), no suppliers
offering eco-labelled computer equipment.
On its website, the
Norwegian Environmental Home Guard has a list of computer equipment
that is free of brominated flame retardants or contains them only in
very small amounts. See
www.gronnguide.no (opens in new window).
Use rechargeable nickel
hydride batteries wherever possible. These do not contain cadmium,
and are labelled NiMH. Read the label or ask your dealer for advice.
Read more about batteries.
Waste
If you have electrical or electronic
equipment that no longer works, it is important to make sure that
the waste is dealt with properly. These products can be delivered
free of charge to municipal recycling centres or to dealers who sell
the same type of goods.
In other words, you can
deliver a television set that is no longer working to the nearest TV
dealer. The dealer is obliged to take the product back regardless of
whether you bought it there or whether you intend to buy a new
product. The same principle applies to electronic products such as
computer equipment, mobile phones, etc. Electronic toys may be
returned to any toy shop.
Fridges and freezers that
are more than 10 years old usually contain a CFC
(chlorofluorocarbon) coolant. These gases cause depletion of the
ozone layer. If you buy a new fridge or freezer, you can deliver the
old one to the dealer. If not, you can deliver the old one free of
charge to the municipality. Discarded fridges and freezers are sent
to facilities where the CFCs are collected and destroyed.
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