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Chinese company tops Greenpeace "Green Ranking" of electronics industry

Does this belong to you? Apple e-waste in China. Enlarge Image

Hello? Steve? This is Green my Apple calling on the iPhone.

It was holy week in Apple land, when all us loyal Mac fans turn to face the Macworld conference in San Francisco to hear where Apple is going to lead the consumer electronics industry next. But while we waited hopefully for Steve Jobs to announce better environmental practices, less toxic contents, and the greener Apple we've all been dreaming of, all we got was a phone.

A boy winces at the acrid smoke rising from the computer motherboards being melted over open fires in a electronics waste (e-waste) recycling yard in Delhi. Such open air burning of electronics parts to recover metals causes large exposure of workers and the environment to toxic pollution. Enlarge Image

Electronics companies race to be greener

Acer and Lenovo are the latest of the top computer makers to commit to stop using the worst toxic chemicals in their products. Along with Motorola these companies are the biggest movers in the latest version of our Guide to Greener Electronics. Disappointingly for Mac fans, Apple has dropped to last place.

Does this belong to you? Apple e-waste in China. Enlarge Image

Green my Apple, Steve

Here at Greenpeace, we love our Macs. But we hate the fact that they're full of toxic chemicals. And we know someone who can do something about it: you.

Dismantling laptop prior to testing for toxic chemicals. Enlarge Image

HP and Apple's toxic laptops exposed

Some of the best-known laptops are contaminated with some of the worst toxic chemicals. Of the five top brands we tested Hewlett-Packard and Apple laptops showed the worst contamination levels.

Piles of cables and computer waste awaiting scrapping. Enlarge Image

Your guide to green electronics

The biggest names in electronics have just sat their first global exam on their green credentials. Ranked on their use of toxic chemicals and electronic waste (e-waste) policies only Dell and Nokia scraped a barely respectable score while Apple, Motorola and Lenovo flunked the test to finish bottom of the class.

Dell computer waste (e-waste) in a Chinese scrap yard. Enlarge Image

Dell promises greener computers but users want more

Dell has become the latest company to promise to remove the worst toxic chemicals from it products, closely following the move of its rival HP. Both companies have been pressured by us to make their products greener and help tackle the growing mountain of toxic e-waste.

Activists deliver electronic waste back to the offices of Hewlett Packard to demand the removal of toxic substances from HP products. Enlarge Image

HP rises to the toxic challenge

Electronics giant Hewlett Packard has risen to the challenge we set them and committed to a phase out plan for a range of hazardous chemicals in its products. Now we are at the consumer electronics industry's biggest annual event to ask "who's next?"

A boy winces at the acrid smoke rising from the computer motherboards being melted over open fires in a electronics waste (e-waste) recycling yard in Delhi. Such open air burning of electronics parts to recover metals causes large exposure of workers and the environment to toxic pollution. Enlarge Image

LG takes up the toxic tech challenge

"Life's Good" might be the LG motto (LG is an electronics company) but life just got a whole lot better for the planet after LG announced that they are committing to eliminating toxic chemicals from their entire consumer electronics range.

A Chinese child sits amongst a pile of wires and e-waste. Children can often be found dismantling e-waste containing many hazardous chemicals known to be potentially very damaging to children's health. Enlarge Image

Pulling the plug on dirty electronics

What happens to your mobile or computer when you throw it away? Did you know it could end up dumped in Asia and scrapped by hand in appalling conditions? This shouldn't be happening, so we are pressuring one of the biggest bad guys, Hewlett-Packard, to come clean -- by delivering a truckload of its own electronic waste to its doorstep.

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