Philips, be sensible, simply take back & recycle!

Philips only takes back its e-waste in countries where it is legally obliged to do so, and refuses to shoulder the real costs of its own e-waste fairly. Instead, Philips tries to make other producers bear its costs and make consumers pay distorted costs through a fee.  Philips refuses to establish and develop a system for taking back and recycling their products, which contain toxic elements.   This situation has brought another problem; these solid wastes go to common dumpsites or get incinerated in combustion plants, which cause a worse damage to the surrounding environment and people’s health.

Other electronics producers, including Sony, Toshiba, Dell and Lenovo, accept responsibility for their own-branded obsolete products, supporting ‘Individual Producer Responsibility’, and setting up voluntary take-back systems for their products. Philips stands out in sharp contrast, as it actively lobbies against the implementation of individual producer responsibility, under existing legislation and its adoption in future legislation.
   
“Philips, while it promises 'sense and simplicity', is instead promoting a senseless and irresponsible approach to tackling e-waste,” said Martin Hojsik, Greenpeace International toxics campaigner. “Philips should simply take financial responsibility for its own products. (2) And it has to make sure all its discarded products are collected worldwide, so the cleanup of this toxic e-waste is not put on the shoulders of unprotected, poor people”.

 

 

In Russia this situation is becoming a more urgent problem.  People are buying more and newer computers, mobile phones, TV’s, game consoles.  And more e-wastes end up in the dumpsites or in incinerators.  Also in the country works a chain of open burning , which extract precious metals from electronic devices.  Actually, when e-waste is burned, in order to get a little bit of gold or platinum, the toxics chemicals in the products are released into the environment.  A recent study of Greenpeace during 2007 showed that soil next to places where e-waste is incinerated is severely polluted.

“It’s funny that after 110 years of work in Russia, Philips still can’t establish a system for taking back and recycling their obsolete products.  If Philips won’t do this, then Moscow’s Governor will simply burn it on newly constructed incinerators, and cause more damage to people’s health, within them their workers and consumers in Russia”, - said Alexey Kiselev, Greenpeace Russia toxics campaigner.

Notes to editors:

Short summary of Greenpeace report about the investigation of incinerating places for e-waste in Saint Petersburg.  Released in Russian language  and the complete version in English

 

Reference for the press-release “Moscow’s Governor against citizens?”

 

Report  “Waste revolution”

Complementary information can be gotten by calling:
(495) 988-74-60, Greenpeace Russia.  Ask for Alexey Kiselev or press-secretary Oksana Karavayko.