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iNEMI forms HFR-Free Leadership Program - The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) has launched a HFR (halogenated flame retardant)-Free Leadership Program.

Green Manufacturing Expo – Chicago in September - The Green Manufacturing Expo will be held on September 22-24 in Rosemont, Ill. The expo was created to provide a wide spectrum of economically sound solutions for the manufacturing enterprise interested in improving process efficiency, reducing costs, and conserving energy and resources.

Voids found in lead-free solder joints - According to an article in Electronics Weekly, a UK-based sister publication of Design News, a researcher at the UK’s University of Leicester has discovered detrimental voids in lead-free solder joints.

GreenSoft launches GreenData Manager - REACH workgroup - The workgroup edition was created to offer a complete compliance data management system for RoHS, REACH and REACH SVHC (substances of very high concern). The workgroup product was designed for multiple users nad tailored to medium-to-large enterprises.

An argument for leaded solder in servers - Here’s a pretty good argument for leaded solder. In a blog on ServerWatch, technology writer, Drew Robb, argues the merits of using leaded solder. Much of the electronics industry agrees, but the reality is lead-free has become the forced norm for most electronic products.

REACH hits the EU this month - As of June 1, 2009, all European Union suppliers are required to comply with a raft of substance restrictions under the REACH regulation.

House considers RoHS-like bill - The U.S. House of Representatives is considering a RoHS-like bill that would become part of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The Environmental Design of Electrical Equipment is more limited than RoHS, according to Gary Nevison of Farnell, a London-based components distributor.

Lasky: Lead-free is plenty reliable -   With more than two years into the lead-free conversion, it’s become clear lead-free components are reliable. According to Dr. Ronald Lasky, senior technologist with Indium and a professor at Dartmouth University says the surprise of RoHS is that reliability has not been an issue.

Tin, silver, copper becomes standard for RoHS solder - According to an article by Mitch Holtzer of Cookson Electronics that appeared in SMT Online, tin/silver/copper (SAC) alloys have become the industry standard lead-free solders since RoHS went into effect.

How will RoHS changes affect medical equipment? - New RoHS changes will impact medical devices. Many of the exemptions that kept RoHS from restricting medical devices will be lifted. Fred Loneker, a senior manager with Environ International Corp.

Engineers need to track RoHS changes - The European Commission is about to drop six exemptions from the RoHS directive. While a move of this order was expected, it still shows that design engineers need to be cognizant of changes in environmental regulations.  the components they chose yesterday may not be compliant today.

Six RoHS exemptions cut - In the latest round of RoHS changes, six exemptions will be retired from the directive’s list of 29 exemptions. In an article in EDN, a Design News sister site, Gary Nevison of Newark and Farnell explains which six exemptions will expire over the next two years.

The impact of environmental regulations on electronics manufacturers - Here’s an in-depth paper that covers the Impact of Environmental Regulations on Electronic Manufacturers. Michael Kirschner, president of Design Chain Associates, a firm the helps companies comply with regulations, authored the paper for the December 2008 Conference on Resource Recycling.

SaaS eco-software for REACH and RoHS - Green EcoSystems Group of Colorado Springs, Colo. has introduced Green -EcoSystems software-as-a-service designed to help manufacturing companies address requirements related to the REACH directive. The tool also supports RoHS compliance.

Selecting the right lead-free connector design - RoHS laws have affected manufacturing processes as well as changing the nature of electronic components. The article, “Designing for RoHS: Select the right lead-free-connector design for heat-sensitive applications,” explores the RoHS-compliant alternatives for design engineers.

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All You Wanted to Know About Computer Recycling

11.04.2007 09:04 - Source:

The trouble with computers is that once they become old and obsolete, they turn from being useful electronic products to hazardous waste objects given the fact that they are made from components that can cause the environment some harm because of the toxic content in them. It is believed that as many as three fourths of old and obsolete computers need to be disposed off and this will surely lead to a big issue for not only the advanced nations of the Western world, but for the world as a whole.

The more new innovative electronic products that are entering the market in a steady stream, the more the need arises to recycle obsolete items such as computers, which makes it a cause of worry even for the local landfills that may not be able to handle high volumes. Since there are many millions of computers in need of being recycled, the environment is coming under threat from such high quantity of waste as well as from the toxins released.

Because of emerging new computer models that are fast making your existing computer become obsolete, the need for finding a solution to e-waste has become paramount for us. Computer recycling means saving some the parts from the obsolete computers while getting rid of those parts that are toxic in nature. You would be surprised to know that there are millions of computers becoming obsolete each year and these are known to contain dangerous material like cadmium, barium, lead as well as mercury.

Computer Landfill

Landfills are not the ideal place to dump your obsolete computer as the dangerous materials such lead, cadmium and barium could get stuck into the ground and even enter the food as well as water thus exacerbating the problem to not only the environment, but also to the health of us humans. The matter is serious enough given the fact that most families may be having more than one obsolete computer stashed away in their garage waiting to be recycled.

This means that there must be a proper way to recycle the old and obsolete computers, so that we can get rid of them without putting ourselves as well as the environment to harm. Computer recycling is not made any easier because there is really not enough incentive to make the effort and you may have to pay a pretty sum of money to have the material collected, handled as well as processed. You may end up paying between ten and fewer than a hundred dollars for each recycled computer.

The most common means of computer recycling is to donate your computer to outfits that may be there as non-profit organizations, or to those who refurbish computers. In any case, the need for manufacturers to come up with computers that do not contain such high levels of hazardous material in the computer is also something that needs to be actively pursued in the not too distant future.

Donations means that the computers will be used further which will prolong their life and not add to the already voluminous e-waste currently plaguing the world today. Reuse of materials will reduce the burden of disposal of computers that have hazardous properties is not only beneficial to the environment but also results in cheaper means of producing new products.

Original text is here