Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; and Computing Facilities

This autumn, PC World will launch its first "green" PC, and surely herald a wave of such products to hit both home and business. Is this the signal that it is time to clear out the techno-junk and invest in a new generation of ecologically sound hardware? Even if there is a lot of "green washing" of products that would have come out anyway, it would seem that the environmental benefits are clear cut. Unfortunately, however, it is more complicated than that: most of the green promises on offer centre on energy usage, and this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to IT's ecological impact.

E-Waste is a popular, informal name for discarded electronic products such as computers, VCRs, cameras, which have reached the end of their "useful life". Discarded electronic products contain a stew of toxic metals and chemicals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and PCBs. Unfortunately, e-Waste, a dangerous byproduct of technology's relentless expansion is one of the fastest growing segments of higher education institutions' waste stream. We need to be strong advocates of "producer responsibility" and give companies an incentive to produce environmentally friendly products. In addition we must learn about and educate our campus communities about managing old electronics and associated materials. In this report, we attempt to answer the question "What should be done with old electronic products?" discuss opportunities for waste prevention and reuse, and talk about regulatory issues.