96 / 202
KICK THE HABIT
THE CYCLE – REDUCE
96
DISPOSAL
MATERIALS RECYCLING
DISMANTLING
To related
industrial
sectors
To second-
hand user
SORTING
COMPUTER
USE
T
r
a
n
s
p
o
r
t
Plastics 23%
Silica 25%
Tin 1%
Nickel 1%
Aluminium 14%
Copper 7%
Lead 6%
Zinc 2%
Iron 20%
Average composition
of a desktop computer
Mercury
Others, including:
All these materials
need mining,
quarrying, extracting
Production from
Coal
Gas
Oil
Uranium
(extraction and burning)
Pumping and
treatment
Silver
Selenium
Cadmium
Arsenic
Cobalt
Manganese
Gold
940 kg of CO
2
eq
per year
Life cycle emissions of a computer
“
Manufacturing computers is materials-intensive; the total fossil
fuels used to make one desktop computer weigh over 240
kilograms, some ten times the weight of the computer itself. This is
very high compared to many other goods: For an automobile or
refrigerator, for example, the weight of fossil fuels used for
production is roughly equal to their weights. Substantial quantities of
chemicals (22 kg), and water (1 500 kg) are also used.
”
Eric Williams,
Computers and the Environment. Understanding and
managing their impact, 2004.
Sources: UNEP/GRID-Arendal 2008; French Environment and
Energy Management Agency (ADEME),
Bilan Carbone
©
,
Guide des
facteurs d’émissions, 2007;
Eric Williams, Ruediger Kuehr
,
Computers and the Environment. Understanding and managing
their impact, 2004;
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.
Ever-shortening lifespans:
2 to 3 years for a laptop
4 to 5 years for a desktop computer