by Shane Henson — June 5, 2013—The Green Grid, an authority on resource-efficient information technology (IT) and data centers, announced a new alliance this month with international think tank Solving the E-waste Problem (StEP) that the group says will advance the “e-waste” discussion and foster solutions that help organizations understand and responsibly dispose of electronic equipment at the end of its useful life.
E-waste is a term used to cover almost all types of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) that has or could enter the waste stream, and includes products such as TVs, computers, mobile phones, and refrigerators. These products can contain a range of substances that are harmful to human health and are rarely recovered and disposed of properly.
The Green Grid sees equipment disposal as a natural next step in meeting the needs of its members, and formed the alliance with StEP to offer expertise and new approaches to solving the global e-waste problem. Many members of The Green Grid have IT managers actively seeking disposal solutions for a generation of electronic equipment—deployed in the digital boom of the 1990s—that is rapidly reaching the end of its natural life. By working with StEP, which is hosted by the United Nations University, The Green Grid aims to put organizations on track to better understand and manage its outdated equipment.
The Green Grid and StEP have already collaborated on a new metric, Electronics Disposal Efficiency (EDE), that will help end-users of information and communications technologies (ICT) measure their success in the responsible management of outdated equipment. The Green Grid is currently working with organizations interested in piloting the EDE metric, which facilities or IT managers whose organization or business does not have a clear and effective plan for disposing of e-waste may find very useful.
