The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the China Standard Certification Center have agreed to work toward harmonizing information on their respective energy-efficiency labels for consumer electronics and office equipment.

A proposed plan is looking to add recycling fees of $10 for TVs and up to $13 for computers to encourage Ontario residents to keep electronics out of landfills.

GreenerComputing

Corporate technology users looking to improve their environmental impact and profitability should consider sustainability as their goal. Organizations can do this by incorporating sustainability into the choices they make regarding planning, buying, managing and retiring their IT assets.

The goal of the new proposed electronics recycling fee for Ontario is to encourage manufacturers to create more environmentally friendly products. The program will charge the first importer of certain electronics, who will then decide whether to add the fee to consumers or to absorb the cost themselves.

September 15, 2007 will mark the first day of an electronics recycling program in the US, Waste Management Inc. and Sony announced. Customers can take their Sony products to 75 Waste Management recycling centers for free.

Sony Corp. has unveiled an environmentally friendly battery that can power a digital music player. The prototype of the battery runs on sugars and is made from a vegetable-based plastic.

A proposed Washington state plan would require electronics manufacturers to obtain approval for their collection and disposal plans. However, Seattle-based Basel Action Network urges the state for stronger actions as the plan is “fuzzy.”

Source: Forbes.com

“With a flood of renewable-energy supplies coming online, it’s time for the electricity grid to get smart.

In a yearlong trial run that ended in the spring, 200 or so homes on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula engaged in a daily bidding war for electricity. It was a sort of robotic Ebay auction in which the thermostat in one house, say, bid against the clothes dryer in another for scarce electrons. The loser would turn off and wait for prices to drop before jumping back onto the grid.”

Computers, televisions and cell phones brought to facilities to be recycled in the United States usually end up overseas, activists say. This e-waste then gets disassembled by workers in China, Inida and Nigeria, exposing them to a toxic mix of chemicals.