As Philips business relations gathered for the Philips Simplicity Event in Moscow’s Red Square to celebrate its 110 years on the Russian market, Greenpeace activists unrolled a banner with the phrase: “Philips: simply take back & recycle! Greenpeace is calling on the company to accept responsibility for its own-branded electronic waste (e-waste). Philips should take back and recycle its products in every country where they are sold, including Russia.
Greenpeace activists unrolled a banner with the phrase: "Philips: 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
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.