The Solutions

Eliminating Hazardous Chemicals

Once they are present in our environment, hazardous chemicals cannot be removed easily. They are slow to break down, with lifespans of years in which they can be absorbed by animals and people. Nor can they be removed by factory clean-up (end-of-pipe treatment) of wastewater.

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A protest calling for HP to phase out hazardous chemicals in their products at their headquarters in Beijing.

Thus, the only way to ensure that our lives are free of hazardous chemicals is to eliminate them completely from use, around the world.

• Governments should draw up a priority list of the most hazardous chemicals and establish a clear schedule for their gradual phase out from production and use.
• Industries should adopt a “zero emissions policy” toward these hazardous chemicals and find safe replacements for them.
• In the interim, governments should make public all information about the use and discharge of hazardous chemicals
• As an important stakeholder, the public should be actively involved in phasing out hazardous chemicals. They should have access to all environmental data, and have the authority to provide oversight and supervision of industries’ environmental impact.

Electronic waste

We believe that manufacturers of electronic goods, who have benefited from sales of their products, should take responsibility for them from production through to the end of their lives.

To prevent an e-waste crisis, manufacturers must design clean electronics with longer lifespan, that are safe and easy to recycle and will not expose workers and the environment to hazardous chemicals.

• Clean up: Electronics manufacturers must stop using hazardous materials. In many cases, safer alternatives currently exist.
• Take back: People should not bear the cost of recycling old electrical goods. Manufacturers should take full lifecycle responsibility for their products and, once they reach the end of their useful life, take their goods back for re-use, safe recycling or disposal.

What you can do

• Before buying a new device, think twice about whether you really need it.
• Support companies that make clean products. Check our Guide to Greener Electronics to make sure that you are buying a product free of hazardous chemicals.
• Return your electronics to the manufacturer when you have finished with it.

For more information:

• Joint Statement by industry and NGOs on Producer Responsibility for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
• An examination of Extended Producer Responsibility’s impact on innovation and greening products. Report commissioned by Greenpeace International, Friends of the Earth and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).