As the market for electrical and electronic products grows rapidly, the lifespan of products is dropping. Some developed world governments are promoting recycling and starting to require that manufacturers safely dispose products at the end of their working life. However, China and India have yet to address the explosion in ‘e-waste’ – electronic scrap – much of it imported from countries with stricter regulations.A report from Greenpeace International shows
that e-waste
recycling in Asia remains largely unregulated and its impact on recycling workers,

The manufacturing processes for several advanced electronics utilise FCs for plasma-etching intricate patterns, cleaning reactor chambers and temperature control. The electronic industry in this chapter includes semiconductor, thin-film-transistor flat panel display and PV manufacturing. This chapter of the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories gives guidance on the methodologies and good practices for estimating the GHG emissions from the non-energy use of the electronics industry.

A full description of the state-of-the-art photovoltaic (PV) recycling methods and their rationale is presented, which discusses the quality of the recycled materials and the fate of the substances that end up in the landfill. The aim is to flag the PV module components currently not recycled, which may have a priority in terms of their embedded energy, chemical nature or scarcity, for the next evolution of recycling.

China’s electronic information industry has quickly become an essential part of the country's national economy. However, pollution and environmental challenges emerge at different stages throughout the lifecycle of information and communication technology (ICT) products, from their design, development, manufacturing to use and disposal. Evidence shows that little effort has been made to address these challenges and environmental issues have not received much attention from industrial manufacturers or the users of ICT products.

The Specialized Library on Climate Change houses wide array of resources on climate change related issues, both in print and electronic form. The website provides information about all the resources and services offered by the library. The library catalogue of print and electronic resources and database of literature abstracts can be accessed on-line. Current awareness services like listing of new arrivals and compilation of latest news and events are also provided on-line.

In public buildings lighting accounts for about 40% of the electricity costs. If you multiply this figure by the number of kindergartens, schools and universities, town halls, local government buildings and government departments, libraries, swimming pools and hospitals, then the total is enormous. Lighting in public buildings is currently consuming far more energy than necessary, with all the negative side-effects such as high running costs, electricity bottlenecks and damage to the climate. That can easily be changed.

The true cost of cheap products: The city hall employees had put up with poor lighting at their workplace for far too long: gloomy corridors, flickering fluorescent lamps, and no emergency lighting or outdoor lighting. And the monthly electricity bills were enormous. Finally, it was decided that the building has to be renovated. A lighting expert analysed the status quo, produced a new lighting strategy, and drew up a plan to implement this.

This plan embodies the U.S. Department of Energy"s (DOE) commitment to sustainability as laid out in its 2011 strategic plan. It presents seven sustainability goals--and associated metrics--including goals related to greenhouse gas reduction, buildings, fleet management, water use efficiency and management, pollution prevention and waste reduction, and electronic stewardship and data centers.

Perspectives is a biannual publication of the International Fertilizer
Development Center (IFDC). Unless otherwise noted, printed material
published in Perspectives is in the public domain and may be freely
reproduced. Source acknowledgment and a copy of any reproduction are
requested. Electronic versions in English and French are available at ifdc.org.

The IFDC Magazine is a quarterly publication of the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC). Unless otherwise noted, printed material published in the IFDC Magazine is in the public domain and may be freely reproduced. Source acknowledgment and a copy of any reproduction are requested. Electronic versions in English and French are available at ifdc.org.