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TECHTARGET.COM NEWS, 24 Dec 2001
Where old servers go to die
By Edward Hurley, Assistant News Editor
Often old, obsolete mainframes and servers are called
boat anchors but even thinking about dumping one in
the water is a big no-no.
The National Safety Council estimates that over 315
million computers will become obsolete by the year 2004.
Proper disposal of old servers and mainframes is a big
issue for companies on both privacy and environmental
grounds. Old boxes contain many nasty metals and chemicals.
On the privacy front, making sure sensitive data is
not recoverable from discarded machines is required
by law. Disposal of servers and mainframes is probably
a bit more evolved in the corporate world than similar
efforts for home users, who until recently probably
sent their old 386s or 486s off to the local landfill.
But businesses have to remain vigilant on the issue.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is much more
likely to visit a large company rather than a homeowner
if it finds a bunch of computers in a landfill.
For those with more devious minds, scratching the serial
numbers off the circuit boards won't help because servers
contain other non-visual copies of the numbers. All
the EPA needs is the number and it knows who bought
the system (and who is accountable for its dumping.)
"I have heard of the EPA going to a large corporation
and saying they found some PCs in a landfill that would
cost $4 million to clean-up," said Brian Brundage, CEO
of Chicago-based InterconRecycling.com, the third largest
electronics recycling firms in the U.S. "The company
cuts a check because it doesn't want the bad publicity."
Brundage's company recycles systems from government
agencies and Fortune 500 companies. None of the material
ends up in landfills but is recycled and reused.
Beyond liability concerns, there are environmental
ones as well. Computer equipment contains many potentially
toxic chemicals including lead, cadmium, mercury and
even PCBs in some older models. Picture tubes of monitors
can contain up to eight pounds of lead, which shields
the user from radiation.
Some machines do contain gold and silver but reclaiming
can cost more than the precious metals are worth, Brundage
said. Even keeping them for parts isn't necessarily
useful, as often the old machines are obsolete.
Instead of thinking of it as environmental recycling,
think of reclaiming of computer material as resource
conservation, said Holly Evans, director of environmental
issues for Electronic Industries Alliance, a trade group
for electronics manufacturers.
Brundage said reclaimed material means less metal to
be mined.
"We also don't need to import materials in from other
countries, " he said.
An old server at some point stops being an asset and
actually becomes a liability for a firm. Companies that
don't realize that change may balk at paying someone
to cart off their old servers.
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